Let's say Mao dies just after the Sino-Soviet Split (1960), which is also after the worst part Great Leap Backwards (ending 1961). In this scenario, Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai are in power, since OTL they took care of matters during this time when Mao was not active.
The questions are:
1. What would an alternate Vietnam War look like?
2. Can a rapproachment (leading to OTL economic reforms decades earlier) occur between the US and China even when the Vietnam war escalates (includes the question of if the Chinese communists will help North Vietnam even with a moribund economy)?