China's relationships with other powers changed over time.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'China provided arms, military training and supplies to the North during the Vietnam War.'
2. [1-4] 'There was tension because the Vietnamese Communist Party wanted to develop their own approach.'
3. [1-4] 'China wanted Vietnam to follow a similar path to China.'
4. [1-4] 'Tensions arose when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1976.'
5. [1-4] 'The relationship deteriorated) when Vietnam signed a treaty of friendship with the USSR.'
6. [1-4] 'China attacked northern Vietnam in 1979.'
7. [2-3] 'There were border disputes.'
8. [2-3] 'China wanted to build a highway into Tibet on the border.’
9. [2-3] 'The Dalai Lama was given refuge in India.'
10. [2-3] 'In 1962 there was a brief war on the border.'
11. [2-3] 'Small communist risings in India in 1967 were supported by China.'
12. [2-3] 'China supported Pakistan in the 1965 war with India.'
13. [2-3] 'Trade almost stopped because of the tension.'
14. [2-3] 'China accused India of supporting rebels in Tibet.'
15. [4-5] e.g. 'In 1962, a brief war broke out between China and India. In 1954, India had published new maps that included the boundaries of India with China, but in 1959, the Chinese stated in a letter to the Indian leader that their borders were incorrect and that over 100 000 square kilometres of territory shown on the Indian maps was in fact Chinese land. The Chinese won the war in 1962 but there was tension throughout the 1960s.'
16. [2-3] 'The relationship between the USSR and China had deteriorated in the 1969's.'
17. [2-3] 'The US supported Taiwan in the Taiwan Straits crisis.'
18. [2-3] 'The US finally accepted that the CCP was the legitimate government of China.'
19. [2-3] ‘In 1971 the Chinese government invited the American table tennis team to Beijing.'
20. [2-3] 'Mao saw there were economic benefits from trading with the US.'
21. [2-3] 'In 1972 there was a Chinese-American trade agreement.'
22. [4-6] e.g. 'Trade between China and the USA was an important part of the greatly improved relations between the two countries after 1970. The failure of the Great Leap Forward meant that China was in need of help and saw American trade and business expertise as something that could be beneficial to China. In 1971, Henry Kissinger travelled to China and negotiated a trade agreement and China was admitted to the UN in the same year. In 1972, the Chinese-American trade agreement was followed by the signing of a peace treaty.'
23. [4-6] OR e.g. 'There were other motives for a thaw in Sino-US relations. As the Chinese relationship with the USSR deteriorated, Mao believed that it was a good idea to cultivate a relationship with the USSR's traditional enemy, the USA. Mao believed in the principle that his enemy's enemy should be his friend, and the provocative behaviour of the Russians in the late 1960s made a positive relationship with the Americans even more attractive.'