GCSE History | Communist China's Foreign Policy under Mao

History Quiz - China: Under Mao - 1965-1976 - The Impact Of Communist Rule On China's Foreign Policy (Questions)

In GCSE History students will look at China under Mao. One aspect they will study is the impact Communist rule had on China's foreign policy.

The successful Communist revolution of 1949, under Mao, caused a sharp change in China's foreign policy. Fellow Communist states could now be allies, while the USA became the main enemy. However, the situation was never quite as simple as that.

Discover more about China's foreign policy under Mao in this enlightening quiz.

With which adjoining state did China sign a friendship treaty in 1950?

[ ]	India
[ ]	Japan
[ ]	The USSR
[ ]	North Korea

China joined in the Korean War on the side of North Korea. Why?

[ ]	Mao feared the existence of a capitalist South Korea as a threat to him
[ ]	Mao wanted to replace the Soviet Union as North Korea's main supporter
[ ]	Mao feared that the UN forces (mainly American) would continue through North Korea and cross the Yalu River into China
[ ]	Mao feared that the USA and its allies would deploy nuclear weapons against the North and wished to forestall this by passing through North Korea and into the south. From there Mao thought that he could negotiate from a position of strength

In 1962 Mao fought a brief border war against a neighbouring power. Which one?

[ ]	India
[ ]	Outer Mongolia
[ ]	Russia
[ ]	North Vietnam

Chinese troops clashed on the Ussuri River in 1969 with another neighbouring state. Which one was this?

[ ]	Pakistan
[ ]	Burma
[ ]	Laos
[ ]	The Soviet Union

In 1972 a diplomatic bombshell occurred with the visit of a United States delegation to Beijing, anxious to talk about trade and other matters. Who headed the US team?

[ ]	Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
[ ]	President Nixon
[ ]	Vice-President Gerald Ford
[ ]	Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

What was the main reason for the deteriorating relations between China and the USSR during the 1960s?

[ ]	Territorial disputes
[ ]	Ideological arguments over the interpretation of Marxist doctrine
[ ]	Personal hostility between Khrushchev and Mao
[ ]	Rivalry for leadership of the Communist world

With which nearby state was a peace treaty eventually signed in 1978, although hostilities had ceased over thirty years earlier? Hostilities had begun fourteen years before that.

[ ]	Japan
[ ]	Great Britain
[ ]	France
[ ]	Nepal

Which state did China herself invade and occupy in 1950, provoking a serious rebellion in 1958 that was brutally crushed?

[ ]	Tibet
[ ]	Mongolia
[ ]	Bhutan
[ ]	Sikkim

When did China first acquire an atomic bomb?

[ ]	1957
[ ]	1961
[ ]	1964
[ ]	1970

10.

A visit by a US sports team paved the way for the successful official visit in 1972. Which sport was this?

[ ]	Ice hockey
[ ]	Table tennis/ping pong
[ ]	Swimming
[ ]	Tennis

History Quiz - China: Under Mao - 1965-1976 - The Impact Of Communist Rule On China's Foreign Policy (Answers)

With which adjoining state did China sign a friendship treaty in 1950?

[ ]	India
[ ]	Japan
[x]	The USSR
[ ]	North Korea

China felt vulnerable just after the revolution and expected an early attack. Alliance with the USSR made an attack less likely

China joined in the Korean War on the side of North Korea. Why?

[ ]	Mao feared the existence of a capitalist South Korea as a threat to him
[ ]	Mao wanted to replace the Soviet Union as North Korea's main supporter
[x]	Mao feared that the UN forces (mainly American) would continue through North Korea and cross the Yalu River into China
[ ]	Mao feared that the USA and its allies would deploy nuclear weapons against the North and wished to forestall this by passing through North Korea and into the south. From there Mao thought that he could negotiate from a position of strength

Mao felt vulnerable, as a newly installed ruler, to an attack by capitalist powers

In 1962 Mao fought a brief border war against a neighbouring power. Which one?

[x]	India
[ ]	Outer Mongolia
[ ]	Russia
[ ]	North Vietnam

Mao's sense of insecurity continued. Many of these borders had only recently been defined - usually in the colonial era. With the decline of the European empires, Mao felt that these artificial constructions could be revised: either by negotiation or by force

Chinese troops clashed on the Ussuri River in 1969 with another neighbouring state. Which one was this?

[ ]	Pakistan
[ ]	Burma
[ ]	Laos
[x]	The Soviet Union

Still insecure, Mao feared attack from all directions. There was no formal declaration of war, but Mao used force to deter what he regarded as frontier incursions

In 1972 a diplomatic bombshell occurred with the visit of a United States delegation to Beijing, anxious to talk about trade and other matters. Who headed the US team?

[ ]	Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
[x]	President Nixon
[ ]	Vice-President Gerald Ford
[ ]	Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

The US was keen to exploit the worsening relations between China and the Soviet Union, and to reduce its own defence spending

What was the main reason for the deteriorating relations between China and the USSR during the 1960s?

[ ]	Territorial disputes
[x]	Ideological arguments over the interpretation of Marxist doctrine
[ ]	Personal hostility between Khrushchev and Mao
[ ]	Rivalry for leadership of the Communist world

Mao believed that the USSR had never been a sincere and durable ally of China

With which nearby state was a peace treaty eventually signed in 1978, although hostilities had ceased over thirty years earlier? Hostilities had begun fourteen years before that.

[x]	Japan
[ ]	Great Britain
[ ]	France
[ ]	Nepal

The change in government in China from 1949 complicated matters, as it had been a previous Chinese government that had responded to attack in the first place

Which state did China herself invade and occupy in 1950, provoking a serious rebellion in 1958 that was brutally crushed?

[x]	Tibet
[ ]	Mongolia
[ ]	Bhutan
[ ]	Sikkim

China maintained that she had an historic claim to this territory, and also no doubt strategic considerations influenced her actions

When did China first acquire an atomic bomb?

[ ]	1957
[ ]	1961
[x]	1964
[ ]	1970

China was anxious to develop this weapon as she felt insecure, and she wanted it also as a bargaining counter in any future negotiations

10.

A visit by a US sports team paved the way for the successful official visit in 1972. Which sport was this?

[ ]	Ice hockey
[x]	Table tennis/ping pong
[ ]	Swimming
[ ]	Tennis

The games generated enormous excitement, and genuinely made a contribution to the success of the official talks