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Episode 33: Chinese Chequers continues where we left off last time, as the implications of the American approach to Korea and Taiwan are heavily felt in Beijing. Mao now had reason to believe that the war could be turned to his advantage, and that a Chinese orientated Korean satellite on the sensitive border region was worth fighting for. It would also demonstrate the Chinese strength, and give Mao a chance to pose as a defender of communism, which was important for his reputation and self-image both at home and abroad. 

First, we examine a different but revealing new development in the United Nations, as India takes the lead in proposing a ceasefire arrangement. Predictably, this proposal failed, but it anticipated India’s later activism in the name of a Korean peace deal, and to some American figures, Chinese willingness to discuss the measure signified that communism was not universal in its foreign policy. Far from following the same policy, China and the Soviets would pursue their own interests, and in early July Mao, unlike Stalin, was still willing to talk about peace, especially if such a deal enabled Chinese Communist representatives to sit in the UN General Assembly for the first time.

In the meantime, Mao prepared for the worst, but it wasn’t until mid-August that the American intention to unify the peninsula was announced. This carefully timed announcement, coming as it did when the allied perimeter at Pusan was judged secure, forced Mao to dispense with peace talks and compelled him to advance his plans for an invasion of the North in support of Kim Il-sung. Now that the American-led UN coalition would be seeking the expulsion of Kim’s regime, Mao knew he could not allow the allies to succeed, for it would be disastrous to Chinese security and prestige. At the same time though, the Truman administration continued to send Mao mixed signals, as the countdown towards the Inchon landings began.

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Music used:

“Go To Work You Jerk”, by Benny Bell released in 1948, available: https://archive.org/details/BennyBell 

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