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A* Essay - How far do you agree that the benefits of Chinese involvement in the Korean War outweighed the costs?
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How far do you agree that the most important consequence of the Korean War for theCommunists was that it strengthened their control over China?
I think the consequence of the Communists strengthening their control over China was the
most important consequence, as it helped to assert Mao’s authority and power towards the
people. There are many factors to consider whilst searching for the significant and important
consequences, such as the size of the consequence and how many people it affected. Also,
there were many types of impacts, such as economic and international, therefore there may
have been indirect consequences of the Korean War. I will be evaluating each impact and
explaining why I agree.
First of all, the economic consequences of the Korean War on China were very big and
devasting. For example, the economy had to be refocused on military equipment and supplies
needed to sustain three years of war. This meant the annual budget was 75% higher in 1951
than in 1950, with over half the budget being spent on the war. This was a very important
consequence, as it disrupted the 5-Year Plan; a secondary impact. Furthermore, most of
military equipment was supplied by Russia, and the Chinese had to pay it all back which
further damaged the economy, but it improved international relations with Russia. The USA
also imposed a trade embargo on all Chinese goods, which made foreign trade fall by 30% in
the first 6 months of 1951. The indirect consequences of this included industrial equipment
based in Manchuria sent to Korea and delayed growth significantly. Investment spent on
education and health decreased, which would’ve negatively impacted China in the long-term
as children were not learning which would prevent them from getting jobs in the future.
However, people were forced to donate money and goods to help fund the war and taxes were
raised to new levels. This shows how the communists strengthened control over China, as
people wouldn’t dare to disobey the government since they had fear installed in them.
Farmers crops were sent to the PLA fighting in Korea and their salaries were collected from
professionals in the cities, presenting how Mao’s government was able to use workers money
to pay for the war, and they had no say or objection due to the fear of being arrested, killed or
sent to “re-education” camps. Overall, through economic impacts, Mao still managed to
strengthen his control over China, despite worsening relations with the USA and deeply
damaging the economy.
Another consequence of the Korean War for the Communists in China was that it affected
their relationship with other countries. The Chinese fighting in Korea were fighting against
the UN troops therefore making them an enemy of the UN. The USA and Russia
relationships with China were the most affected. Americans living in China faced persecution
and were branded as counter-revolutionaries and some were forced to leave the country.
Moreover, the US tried to prevent dominos falling to Communism in countries like Taiwan,
Vietnam and the region of Tibet which was under Chinese control. America pledged that they
would keep Taiwan away from China and made sure the PRC would be refused admission to
the UN. This explains how US-China relations worsened dramatically due to the Korean
War, and in the long-term they had very tense relations, even to this day. To continue, Sino-
Soviet relations had suffered as a consequence of the war. Mao was misled by Stalin from the
outset and disliked how Stalin failed to provide air cover for the PLA and lack of fighting
during the war. This caused the indirect impact of how China seemed to have contributed
more to international communism than Russia did, which is false. This in the long-term
shattered relations between China and the rest of the world. Also, once Stalin had died,
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