How the Chinese Communist Party endures (The Hindu, GS-1, World History)

01 Jul How the Chinese Communist Party endures (The Hindu, GS-1, World History)

Context:- It’s been 100 years since Chinese communist party’s inception. China has reached the zenith from the bottom and continues its upward trajectory. In this journey China has faced many ups and down from which she has learnt a lot. In this article we will be discussing the past and current journey of China at the international stage as well as the domestic stage.

Colonialism in china:-

• China was discovered by the Portuguese in 1514
• Portuguese established trade relations with China by setting up a trading center in Canton in 1557.
• China followed a policy of seclusion and only limited trade happened which upset the other powers such as the U.K.
• The Opium Wars of the 19th century forced China to open i.e in trade, inflow of foreigners and in establishing diplomatic relations. 
• China had national unity historically and the Manchu Dynasty ruled from 1640s to 1911. 
• Maoists came to power in the 1940s till 1949, China witnessed a period of foreign interference, civil war and disintegration. 
• Taiping rebellion (1850-64) was a religious-political movement, which was crushed by provincial armies of China. 
• Loss of territory north of River Amur to Russia in 1858. 
• Japan invaded China in 1894-95 and brought parts of China under its control, especially Manchuria which was brought under Japanese economic influence. 
• Boxer Rising occurred during 1899-1900. It was a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian revolt. British deployed Indian soldiers to put it down.
• Japan emerged victorious from the Russia Japan war of 1904-05 and replaced Russia from areas under its control in China.
•  In 1911, the Manchu Dynasty was overthrown and a Republic was proclaimed. 
• From 1916 to 1928, there was no central authority in China and the Generals with private armies seized control of different provinces. This era is called as Warlord Era. 
• It was Kuomintang or KMT or the Nationalist party, which rose during the Warlord Era and ended it completely in 1928. Sun Yat Sen and later Chiang Kai Shek were its important leaders. 
• KMT fought a civil war with Chinese Communist Party which emerged victorious by 1949, establishing a communist form of government in China while Chiang Kai Shek fled to Taiwan operating a Government in exile.

Five Major Events:-

There are major five major events occurred before beginning of the Warlord Era:

• Sino-Japan War (1894-5):-

  • This war was fought mainly over Korea from Japan, which was under the control of China. China was defeated and there by recognized Korea as an independent state. Also, China was forced to give some territory to Japan which were located in Southern China. Formasa (Taiwan) was also occupied by Japan. The Senkaku islands, which are located in South China Sea, were annexed by Japan after this war ( The Senkaku islands are today a point of contention between China and Japan). Manchuria which is currently in china, came under the economic influence of Japan where it made a lot of capital investments after the 1890s. Manchuria was very important due to its high coal and mineral reserves and also provided access to Pacific Ocean. Japan envied the Russian control of Manchuria after 1858.

• Boxer Rebellion (1899-1900):-

  • China was divided into spheres of influence by the year 1900 (thus China was reduced from a sovereign state to a status of International colony). Each Imperial power ruling its sphere of influence in china. The rebellion was against foreign interference in political, social, economic and religious affairs and was crushed by a joint force from the west which consisted of anglo, German, Russian, French, Japanese, American . The Empress was forced to pay massive compensation for damage to the foreign forces in China. Boxer Protocol or treaty was signed which allowed foreign powers to station their troops for protection of their citizens in China. Russia occupied all of Manchuria after the treaty, 

• Russo-Japan War (1904-05):-

  • It was fought over Manchuria (Remember earlier one was over Korea). Japan won and took over Russian possessions in China including machuria. Because of this win chinese territory came under Japan’s control. 
  • Japan got a privileged position in South Manchuria along with Port Arthur. 
  • Japan converted independent Korea into its Protectorate state  in 1905. It also acquired control of Liaotung Peninsula. 
  • Russia ceded half of Sakhalin islands to Japan. The win established Japan as a major power in Aisa and Wolrd. US was against Russian domination in China and was ok with Japan. 
  • US President Roosevelt mediated and persuaded, Russia In the Russo-Japan war, to recognize Japan’s territorial gains.
  • The US entered into a secret agreement with Japan which allows US trade freely in these areas. 
  • Henceforth US began Policy of Appeasement towards Japan which ultimately  boosted Japan’s imperialism. This appeasement policy allowed Japan to become a major power and a US rival in the Pacific. The Russian defeat at hands of an Asian country psychologically boosted the Asians in their independence struggle and suffocated Russia on other hand. This defeat also weakened the Russian Czarist regime at home. 

• Chinese youth:-

  • Chinese youth who got their education in the west returned in early 1900s with radical revolutionary ideas which were triumphing in the west. They desired to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and to establish a USA type democracy. Sun Yat Sen who was the forerunner in establishing the democracy established Kuomintang or KMT or the Nationalist Party.

• Republic China in 1911:-

  • The Manchu Dynasty’s rule ended in a revolution in 1911 when most provinces declared themselves independent. The new government tried for democratic reforms demanded by the young intellectuals but the provincial armies opposed such reforms and a military coup took place in 1911.
  • The New government was overthrown. China was proclaimed a Republic under a military General named Yuan Shih Kai as President. Further, when Yuan declared himself to be the Emperor in 1915 against the wishes of provincial armies, he was removed from power and the Warlord era began (1916-28).
• Chinese communist party came to power in 1949 by defeating the Kuomintang

Since 1949 Let’s take a look what china has learnt:-

•  Mao Zedong gave the slogan stood up.
• Under Deng Xiaoping China became rich
• Under Xi Jinping China becoming powerful.
• Chine communist party fused the people with a collective purpose  i.e. the rejuvenation of China and gave them a ‘national’ identity.
• According to Mao  China had “stood up” and it would never let itself be humiliated again.

• Second lesson learnt from success of the Bolshevik revolution in 1917:-

  • Mao took the revolution from the cities to the countryside and imparted to the Chinese revolution a populist character.

• Tiananmen crisis:-

  • The simmering dissatisfaction resulting from the uneven impact of Deng’s reforms and the problem of corruption in the CPC since the mid­1980s burst out in massive demonstrations and more critically. Lesson learnt from this was China has to achieve its economic objectives but it “could not afford chaos in the country”. This was taken seriously by XI Xingping, XI translated into clamping down on political freedoms there by centralizing tendencies gained the upper hand.
• Defining structural transformation of the post­ World War II n and the international order. This was the next lesson learnt by china. China decided to go away from its ‘low profile’ in foreign affairs. Though he world’s response and acceptance of china, are mixed. 

China’s achievement:- 

• China has brought nearly 800 million people out of poverty.
• An equivalent trajectory in space by china.
• Nearly top stature in world affairs.

Download Yojna IAS Daily Current Affairs of 1 July 2021

Swarn Singh

Plutus IAS Current Affair Team Member