The Twentieth CPSU Congress and the Eighth CCP Congress, 1956

Abstract

This chapter discusses the impact of the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) on Sino-Soviet relations. The Twentieth Congress raised the Stalin issue, which prompted a series of deep questions regarding the socialist road and development, and had a latent impact on the evolution of Sino-Soviet relations. According to available records, Mao differed little from Khrushchev on the Stalin issue. This chapter argues that the Twentieth Congress had no negative impact on Sino-Soviet relations. Subsequent developments show that the Sino-Soviet relationship became closer and without signs of serious divergence in the wake of the Twentieth Congress. But public “self-criticism” of the CPSU and the unveiling of Stalin’s mistakes lowered the CPSU’s prestige and shook its leadership role in the socialist camp.