Sino-Albanian split
Encyclopedia
The Sino-Albanian split in 1978 saw the parting of the People's Republic of China
(PRC) and People's Socialist Republic of Albania
, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.
(CPC) and the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSh) had stagnated by 1970. When China began to reemerge from isolation in the early 1970s, Mao Zedong
and other Communist Chinese leaders reassessed their commitment to Albania. In response, Tirana
, led by Enver Hoxha
, began broadening its international position. Albania opened trade negotiations with France
, Italy
and the newly independent Asian and Africa
n states, and later in 1971 it normalized relations with Yugoslavia
and Greece
. Albania's leaders abhorred the PRC's rapprochement with the United States
in the early 1970s. Tirana press and radio ignored President Richard Nixon
's trip to Beijing
in 1972. Nevertheless, Albania proposed the key resolution in the UN General Assembly which enabled the PRC to replace the Republic of China
in the United Nations
.
Albania actively worked to reduce its dependence on China by diversifying trade and improving diplomatic and cultural relations especially with Western Europe
. However, Albania shunned the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and was the only European country (with the exception of Andorra
) that refused to take part in the Helsinki Conference of July 1975.
Soon after Mao's death in 1976 and after the removal of the Gang of Four
of the Cultural Revolution
period, Enver Hoxha
condemned the new leadership as well as its Three Worlds Theory
. The PRC's response was to invite Josip Broz Tito
to Beijing
in 1977, signaling the end of its assistance programs for Albania in 1978.
The break with the PRC left Albania without foreign protection. Tirana ignored calls by the United States and the Soviet Union
to normalize relations. Instead, Albania expanded diplomatic ties with Western Europe and the developing nations and began stressing the principle of self-reliance
as the keystone of the country's strategy for economic development.
produced a major split in the international Maoist movement, with many anti-revisionist
groups choosing to side with PPSh's orthodox stance, and other groups splitting over the issue. This tendency has occasionally been labeled as Hoxhaism
after Albanian leader Enver Hoxha. Main alliances of PPSh were in Africa, Turkey
and in Latin America
. Most notable groups include the Communist Party of Brazil
in its fight against the pro-American military government and the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray
in its fight against the pro-Soviet government led by Mengistu Haile Mariam
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(PRC) and People's Socialist Republic of Albania
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The People's Republic of Albania was the official name of Albania during the communist rule between 1946 and 1976. The 1976 Constitution changed the name into People's Socialist Republic of Albania , which was the official name of the country from 1976 until 1991.-Consolidation of power and...
, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.
History
The relations between Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
(CPC) and the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSh) had stagnated by 1970. When China began to reemerge from isolation in the early 1970s, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and other Communist Chinese leaders reassessed their commitment to Albania. In response, Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
, led by Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, began broadening its international position. Albania opened trade negotiations with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the newly independent Asian and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n states, and later in 1971 it normalized relations with Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Albania's leaders abhorred the PRC's rapprochement with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early 1970s. Tirana press and radio ignored President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's trip to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1972. Nevertheless, Albania proposed the key resolution in the UN General Assembly which enabled the PRC to replace the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Albania actively worked to reduce its dependence on China by diversifying trade and improving diplomatic and cultural relations especially with Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. However, Albania shunned the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and was the only European country (with the exception of Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
) that refused to take part in the Helsinki Conference of July 1975.
Soon after Mao's death in 1976 and after the removal of the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
period, Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
condemned the new leadership as well as its Three Worlds Theory
Three Worlds Theory
The Three Worlds Theory , developed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong , posited that international relations comprise three politico–economic worlds: the First World, the superpowers, the Second World, the superpowers' allies, and the Third World, the nations of the Non-Aligned...
. The PRC's response was to invite Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1977, signaling the end of its assistance programs for Albania in 1978.
The break with the PRC left Albania without foreign protection. Tirana ignored calls by the United States and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to normalize relations. Instead, Albania expanded diplomatic ties with Western Europe and the developing nations and began stressing the principle of self-reliance
Self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency refers to the state of not requiring any outside aid, support, or interaction, for survival; it is therefore a type of personal or collective autonomy...
as the keystone of the country's strategy for economic development.
International splits
Although of little importance in world politics, the Sino-Albanian split and the debates around Three Worlds TheoryThree Worlds Theory
The Three Worlds Theory , developed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong , posited that international relations comprise three politico–economic worlds: the First World, the superpowers, the Second World, the superpowers' allies, and the Third World, the nations of the Non-Aligned...
produced a major split in the international Maoist movement, with many anti-revisionist
Anti-Revisionist
In the Marxist–Leninist movement, anti-revisionism refers to a doctrine which upholds the line of theory and practice associated with Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and usually either Mao Zedong or Enver Hoxha as well...
groups choosing to side with PPSh's orthodox stance, and other groups splitting over the issue. This tendency has occasionally been labeled as Hoxhaism
Hoxhaism
"Hoxhaism" is an informal term used to refer to a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological row between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labour of Albania in 1978.The Albanians...
after Albanian leader Enver Hoxha. Main alliances of PPSh were in Africa, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Most notable groups include the Communist Party of Brazil
Communist Party of Brazil
The Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...
in its fight against the pro-American military government and the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray
Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray
The Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray was a semi-clandestine Hoxhaist Communist party that held a leading role in the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front in the 1980s...
in its fight against the pro-Soviet government led by Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
.
See also
- China-Albania Friendship AssociationChina-Albania Friendship AssociationChina-Albania Friendship Association was an organization based in China, with the aim of strengthening relations between the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Albania. The two states had a common position of denouncing 'revisionism' in the Soviet Union after the 20th Congress...
- History of Communist Albania
- Three Worlds TheoryThree Worlds TheoryThe Three Worlds Theory , developed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong , posited that international relations comprise three politico–economic worlds: the First World, the superpowers, the Second World, the superpowers' allies, and the Third World, the nations of the Non-Aligned...
- Anti-Revisionism
- International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle)International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle)The International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations is an international network of Hoxhaist Communist parties that uphold the line of Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Party of Labour...