From my understanding, the main reason that China split from the Soviet Union was because the USSR was trying to build a hegemony. But China had learned during the civil war and the long march that there are no universal truths when it comes to the implementation of socialism. The main example is Otto Braun, a military advisor sent by the Comintern. He didnt speak Chinese, disnt know the local conditions and was trying to wage a conventional war against the nationalists, which failed completely. Only when the CPC gave military command back to Mao did they start winning battles again (by fighting a guerilla war).
I think history has proven the PRC right, their model of socialism has survived, while learning from the mistakes of the USSR. Like not building hegemony, not being dragged into an arms race etc.
That said, the PRC obviously wouldnt exist in its current state without the USSR coming first, and figuring out for the first time how to implement socialism in a large nation.
From my understanding, the main reason that China split from the Soviet Union was because the USSR was trying to build a hegemony. But China had learned during the civil war and the long march that there are no universal truths when it comes to the implementation of socialism. The main example is Otto Braun, a military advisor sent by the Comintern. He didnt speak Chinese, disnt know the local conditions and was trying to wage a conventional war against the nationalists, which failed completely. Only when the CPC gave military command back to Mao did they start winning battles again (by fighting a guerilla war).
I think history has proven the PRC right, their model of socialism has survived, while learning from the mistakes of the USSR. Like not building hegemony, not being dragged into an arms race etc.
That said, the PRC obviously wouldnt exist in its current state without the USSR coming first, and figuring out for the first time how to implement socialism in a large nation.