DBWI:Communist China

What would have happened if the Communists won the Chinese Civil War? Would China still have the world's largest economy and be one of the "twin rocks" of the Alliance For Democracy?
 
It seems to me that they would have become friends with the Soviets, perhaps reversing the path of the Cold War. The sheer manpower would have been a big bonus to the Soviets. Also, some smaller Asian countries might have gone Communist, without China there to keep an eye on them.

However, their economy might have tanked along with the Soviets, which might have led to further revolutions, embroiling the country in war and perhaps even splitting it apart.
 
There is also the argument that historical and ethnic tensions would have certainly superceded the supposed unity of socialist states. Just consider the border tensions that arose between Jawarhalal Nehru's India and Lavrentii Beria's USSR in 1957 and 1962. According to the many "Dalit" immigrants who came to California in the 1980s, "Soviet Socialism" and "Hindu Socialism" only served to increase tensions betweent eh two countries.

In the same vein, the USSR would have found a way to strain relations with a Communist China. Just consider how problematic things got after the "White Lotus Scandal" in 1986 between the U.S. and China....
 
Never gonna happen

Thats ridiculous the communists could never have survived the long march, and even if they did surely the people of China would have realised that almost all communist states turn out to be even more repressive than their democratic counterparts. :(
 
Thats ridiculous the communists could never have survived the long march, and even if they did surely the people of China would have realised that almost all communist states turn out to be even more repressive than their democratic counterparts. :(
I'm not so sure, especially considering how long the nations of India and Indonesia persisted as Communist states. Indonesia alone lasted from 1956 until 1998. India while it has tacitly become a capitalist democracy since 1994 still has the one-party political control of the Communist Party....
 
I think a Sino-Soviet war would almost certainly have happened considering the near-war status between India and the USSR in OTL and the fact that Soviet Union and China had many border disputes. Also what if the Communist takeover John Birch had been killed and never became elected Senator starting the Birchite consevertive movement?
 
It was strange that so many nations of pesants went communist in the first place (USSR, India), a second doing it is just ASB!
 
It was strange that so many nations of pesants went communist in the first place (USSR, India), a second doing it is just ASB!
The problem with understanding Communist-Socialism and its appeal is that it speaks to the lowest segments of society by telling them that they can "cast the shackles of their oppressors...". As such, the United States has a responsibility to show that despite a legacy that includes segregation and racism, that the democratic nations are not defined by those harsh policies. That is why President Colin Powell is probably the best chance at convincing India to make reforms....
 
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