Nationalist China

Less scary Cold War. No Korean War, or a early win with a united Korea on the side of the West.

Better world economic growth.

If they join the US in an anti-Soviet alliance joint forces along the Soviet-sino border.

Mmm, today, better trade balance. Less antagonistic China.
 
I dunno, can we see missiles in Northern China given by American for "self defense" ? Though I wouldn't say the outcome is necessarily better, the KMT was comparatively unpopular and quite corrupt .

The early entry of China into the world market would probably see a crowding out effect on Taiwan, Korea, and maybe Japan but they have a head start. Hyundai , Kia, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture limited would all be one of many competitors instead of the dominating market giants they are today. A side effect of all of this is the lack of another lowest common denominator manufacture after the far East becomes developed, expect inflation to rise sharply 10-20 years earlier than OTL (say 2020-2030) as the far East shifts from export orientated economies.

Culturally there wouldn't be the decades of propaganda and the cultural revolution to bleach out the countless local cultures. While China won't be exporting it's culture like Hollywood a Chinese equivalent of Bollywood is quite likely, goodbye bland generic historical dramas/propaganda that makes up 1/3 of Chinese media. Also without the isolation and bleaching Chinese attitudes towards foreigners would be comparatively better (not too sure on the Japanese though).

Being an ally of the "West" would also mean that the Tibetan issue is played down in favor of the overall struggle against communism. The Korean war (if it occurs) would be a victory for the West with an unified Korea. The Vietnam war would certainly have been won considering the lack of Chinese support, manpower, or safe heaven. Now North Vietnam would still exist short of a Chinese invasion but the corrupt and racist South Vietnamese regime would certainly persist. There wouldn't be as much of the unease surrounding the "rising dragon", especially if China is seen as an ally to the West.

Of course no KMT exile = no Taiwan= massive amounts of resources not going towards armaments, it would also give China less incentive to accelerate the development of their navy.
 
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A KMT victory obviously spares China the worst Maoist insanity which is a good thing it itself, however as said above the KMT were notoriously corrupt and were pretty incompetent. Even defeating Mao wouldn't necessarily end opposition to them, unless Chiang took action to address the grievances of ordinary Chinese then it's possible that another serious challenge to their rule at some point. I do think China will industrialise at some time but it wouldnt be plain sailing.
 
With less of a dictatorship, I wonder if the educated middle class could have successfully led a democratic revolution.
 
Without the Cultural Revolution, Chinese cities might have been spared some of the wanton destruction of historical sites, Buddhist monasteries, and temples. Beijing might still have its old city walls. Also, the capital would probably still be in Nanjing (Nanking), which would be substantially larger than it is today.
 

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There would be US military bases along the Soviet, Mongolian and North Korean borders.
Chiang would never allow that, but he can be replaced. I think the US would have replaced Chiang with someone more loyal it the Kuomintang had won after WW2.
Of course this all depend on when the Nationalists win. If Kuomintang wins before the war with Japan, the threat from the USSR would be less severe, and the USSR would have no local Communists to support. This could lead to much better relations between the Kuomintang and the USSR. Remember they had quite good relations before WW2.

The economy: Chiang was all for nationalization. With Chiang in charge we would see something less commie than Commie China, but still probably a heavily regulated economy. With a US puppet in charge, we would see something closely related to Pinochet's Chile. China would be ruled by a military junta for decades (whether under Chiang or under a US puppet). I think it would have fallen by now, but would it have happened peacefully or through a violent revolution?
 
Does this also butterfly away the Korean War, or at least any War started by the North?

Also what would the US political consequences?
 
If the Military becomes more Americanized one could see pressure for reforms. A strong Military controlled by the Nationalist would result in the collapse of the Warlords.
 
Since the Nationalist government would have been less authoritarian, there would have been no One-Child Policy, causing birth rates in China to remain at very high levels for decades longer. Also without the tens of millions of people dying during the famines, the population would be higher still.
Although wasn't it Mao's policy during the 50s that a large population means a powerful nation so high birth rates were originally encouraged under Communist rule? So perhaps the population of Nationalist China today wouldn't actually have been much different to today's Communist China.
 
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Since the Nationalist government would have been less authoritarian, there would have been no One-Child Policy, causing birth rates in China to remain at very high levels for decades longer. Also without the tens of millions of people dying during the famines, the population would be higher still.
Although wasn't it Mao's policy during the 50s that a large population means a large nation so high birth rates were originally encouraged under Communist rule? So perhaps the population of Nationalist China today wouldn't actually have been much different to today's Communist China.

I think Chiang would have done a Two Child Policy from he start. Same population as OTL, but much healthier in getting there.
 
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