Today, the People’s Republic of China is North Korea’s only ally on the world stage, a tightly knit relationship that goes back decades. Both countries portray their partnership as one of “brotherly affection” based on shared political ideals―an alliance “as tight as lips to teeth”―even though relations have deteriorated in recent years due to China’s ascendance and North Korea’s intransigence. In A Misunderstood Friendship, leading diplomatic historians Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia draw on previously untapped primary source materials revealing tensions and rivalries to offer a unique account of the China–North Korea relationship. They unravel the twists and turns in high-level diplomacy between China and North Korea from the late 1940s to the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Through unprecedented access to Chinese government documents, Soviet and Eastern European archives, and in-depth interviews with former Chinese diplomats and North Korean defectors, Shen and Xia reveal that the tensions that currently plague the alliance between the two countries have been present from the very beginning of the relationship. They significantly revise existing narratives of the Korean War, China’s postwar aid to North Korea, Kim Il-sung’s ideological and strategic thinking, North Korea’s relations with the Soviet Union, and the importance of the Sino-U.S. rapprochement, among other issues. A Misunderstood Friendship adds new depth to our understanding of one of the most secretive and significant relationships of the Cold War, with increasing relevance to international affairs today.

A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, and Sino–North Korean Relations, 1949–1976 (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

History

Xia, Yafeng

Shen, Zhihua

Asia

Columbia University Press

Today, the People's Republic of China is North Korea's only ally on the world stage, a tightly knit relationship that goes back decades. Both countries portray their partnership as one of "brotherly affection" based on shared political ideals--an alliance "as tight as lips to teeth"--even though relations have deteriorated in recent years due to China's ascendance and North Korea's intransigence. In A Misunderstood Friendship, leading diplomatic historians Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia draw on previously untapped primary source materials revealing tensions and rivalries to offer a unique account of the China-North Korea relationship. They unravel the twists and turns in high-level diplomacy between China and North Korea from the late 1940s to the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Based on unprecedented access to Chinese government documents, Soviet and Eastern European archives, and in-depth interviews with former Chinese diplomats and North Korean defectors, Shen and Xia reveal that the tensions that currently plague the alliance between the two countries have been present from the very beginning of the relationship. They significantly revise existing narratives of the Korean War, China's postwar aid to North Korea, Kim Il-sung's ideological and strategic thinking, North Korea's relations with the Soviet Union, and the importance of the Sino-U.S. rapprochement, among other issues. A Misunderstood Friendship adds new depth to our understanding of one of the most secretive and significant relationships of the Cold War, with increasing relevance to international affairs today.

A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, and Sino-North Korean Relations, 1949-1976: Revised Edition

A very good attempt to give a coherent and consistent account of the China-U.S. contacts during the Cold War.... [R]eaders will certainly gain a better understanding of this interesting and intricate history." ―Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese Ambassador to the United States
Few relationships during the Cold War were as dramatic as that between the United States and China. During World War II, China was America’s ally against Japan. By 1949, the two countries viewed each other as adversaries and soon faced off in Korea. For the next two decades, Beijing and Washington were bitter enemies. Negotiating with the Enemy is a gripping account of that period. On several occasions―Taiwan in 1954 and 1958, and Vietnam in 1965―the nations were again on the verge of direct military confrontation. However, even as relations seemed at their worst, the process leading to a rapprochement had begun. Dramatic episodes such as the Ping-Pong diplomacy of spring 1971 and Henry Kissinger’s secret trip to Beijing in July 1971 paved the way for Nixon’s historic 1972 meeting with Mao.

Negotiating with the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks During the Cold War, 1949-1972

Americas

Indiana University Press

Mao and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959–1973: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)

In the twenty-first century, students of Cold War history are fortunate to have the fruits of several major works on the Sino-Soviet split by European and American scholars. What is lacking in English literature, however, is a book based on international documentation, especially Chinese archival documents that tell the story from the Chinese perspective. Based on archival materials from several countries—particularly China—and more than twenty years of research on the subject, two prominent Chinese historians, Danhui Li and Yafeng Xia, offer a comprehensive look at the Sino–Soviet split from 1959, when visible cracks appeared in the Sino-Soviet alliance, to 1973, when China’s foreign policy changed from an “alliance with the Soviet Union to oppose the United States” to “aligning with the United States to oppose the Soviet Union.” Mao and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959–1973: A New History is a reevaluation of the history of the Sino-Soviet split and offers the first comprehensive account of it from a Chinese perspective. This book, together with its prequel Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959: A New History, is important because any changes in Sino-Soviet relations at the time affected, and to a great extent determined, the fate of the socialist bloc. More importantly, it directly impacted and transformed the international political situation during the Cold War. These two books promise to be a reevaluation of the history of the Sino-Soviet alliance from its birth to its demise. These fascinating books will be a crucial resource for all those interested in the topic and will stand as the definitive work on the Sino-Soviet alliance for years to come.

Li, Danhui

Lexington Books

Review\nDanhui Li and Yafeng Xia effectively use numerous materials in several languages, including from provincial archives in China, to place the Sino-Soviet relationship at the center of key moments in PRC history, including the turn toward the United States. This is like reading MacFarquhar with archives. -- Austin Jersild, Old Dominion University\nAn essential resource for all scholars of the Cold War and of the demise of the Sino-Soviet Friendship, this new book seeks to upend the prevailing scholarly explanations of the famous Sino-Soviet Split. Armed with new Russian and Chinese data, Danhui Li and Yafeng Xia offer a more nuanced explanation of important Sino-Soviet events and, in so doing, argue that China’s relationship with the Soviet Union was crucially important to the development of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. -- Deborah Kaple, Princeton University\nAuthored by two leading historians of China's foreign relations, this meticulously researched work of scholarship brings new depth to our understanding of the underlying causes of the Sino-Soviet split. Danhui Li and Yafeng Xia tell a gripping story, peppered with fascinating details from new archival revelations. This study is a must-read for scholars and students of Cold War history. -- Sergey Radchenko, Cardiff University\nNo bilateral relationship was more consequential in Cold War history than the conflict-ridden Sino-Soviet alliance. This carefully researched and insightfully argued book by two of the world’s most accomplished experts on the subject is a must read for anyone interested in diplomatic history, international security, or the international relations of East Asia. -- Thomas Christensen, Columbia University\nThe collapse of the Sino-Soviet alliance was a salient event in Cold War history, as it not only changed the orientation or even essence of the global Cold War but also buried international communism as a 20th-century phenomenon. This book by Li and Xia, with the support of extensive and highly original research, offers the hitherto best study on why and how Beijing and Moscow turned from brothers-in-arms into deadly enemies. It is extraordinarily revealing and strongly recommended. -- Jian Chen, New York University/NYU-Shanghai\nIn the twenty-first century, students of Cold War history are fortunate to have the fruits of several major works on the Sino-Soviet split by European and American scholars. What is lacking in English literature, however, is a book based on international documentation, especially Chinese archival documents that tell the story from the Chinese perspective.\nBased on archival materials from several countries—particularly China—and more than twenty years of research on the subject, two prominent Chinese historians, Danhui Li and Yafeng Xia, offer a comprehensive look at the Sino–Soviet split from 1959, when visible cracks appeared in the Sino-Soviet alliance, to 1973, when China’s foreign policy changed from an “alliance with the Soviet Union to oppose the United States” to “aligning with the United States to oppose the Soviet Union.” Mao and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959–1973: A New History is a reevaluation of the history of the Sino-Soviet split and offers the first comprehensive account of it from a Chinese perspective.\nThis book, together with its prequel Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959: A New History, is important because any changes in Sino-Soviet relations at the time affected, and to a great extent determined, the fate of the socialist bloc. More importantly, it directly impacted and transformed the international political situation during the Cold War. These two books promise to be a reevaluation of the history of the Sino-Soviet alliance from its birth to its demise. These fascinating books will be a crucial resource for all those interested in the topic and will stand as the definitive work on the Sino-Soviet alliance for years to come.

Lexington

Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)

Based on Chinese archival documents, interviews, and more than twenty years of research on the subject, Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia offer a comprehensive look at the Sino-Soviet alliance between the end of the World War II and 1959, when the alliance was left in disarray as a result of foreign and domestic policies. This book is a reevaluation of the history of this alliance and is the first book published in English to examine it from a Chinese perspective.

Based on Chinese archival documents, interviews, and more than twenty years of research on the subject, Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia offer a comprehensive look at the Sino-Soviet alliance between the end of the World War II and 1959, when the alliance was left in disarray as a result of foreign and domestic policies. This book is a reevaluation of the history of this alliance and is the first book published in English to examine it from a Chinese perspective.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Xia, Yafeng. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Xia, Yafeng

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Xia, Yafeng. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, and Sino–North Korean Relations, 1949–1976 (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, and Sino-North Korean Relations, 1949-1976: Revised Edition

Negotiating with the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks During the Cold War, 1949-1972

Mao and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959–1973: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)

Mao and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959–1973: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)

Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)

Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959: A New History (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series)