Re-examining the end of Mao’s revolution: China’s changing statecraft and Sino-American relations, 1973–1978

Abstract

Synthesizing heretofore available Chinese sources, this article re-examines the long process of the end of China’s continuous revolution from 1973 to 1978, a transitional period insufficiently addressed by scholars. It explores China’s evolving statecraft in the maelstrom of leadership struggles, as Chinese leaders – Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, and Deng Xiaoping – continuously redefined China’s foreign and domestic goals, fluctuating between revolution and development. This article concludes that despite predominant scholarly focus on geopolitics, China’s changing perception of its national interests largely determined Sino-American relations from Richard Nixon’s historic trip in 1972 to normalisation of relations in 1979.