The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

the barrel of a gun” and decided to pursue their cause
with resort to arms. 22 Between 1927 and 1937, the
Communists and the Nationalists (the English term
for the KMT and its followers) waged the First KMT-
CCP Civil War (第一次国共内战).
The Japanese invasion of China, begun in 1931 and
flaming into full-scale warfare in 1937, forced the two
sides to put their fight on hold and join hands again
to deal with a common enemy. But as soon as the
Anti-Japanese War was over in 1945, the two quickly
resumed their deadly contest and waged the Second
KMT-CCP Civil War (第二次国共内战). In 1949, the
Communists defeated the Nationalists. The triumphant
Communists renamed the nation the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). The defeated KMT and Chiang
Kai-shek sought shelter in Taiwan and restored
the ROC government on the island. The two sides continued
their fight during the Cold War (in all forms
short of full-scale armed invasion of each other). A
divided China has continued to this date.
1949-1978: False Start of Modernization and Self
Destruction.
With a new China under their firm control, the CCP
had a golden opportunity to modernize this war-torn
nation and turn it into a great power. In all fairness,
the CCP under the leadership of Mao Zedong was
committed to this mission. At this moment, the CCP
enjoyed overwhelming support from the Chinese people
who in the previous 20 years had been mobilized
by Mao’s forces and inspired by his vision for a new
China. 23 With the CCP’s success in land reform, initial
economic restructuring, and a defiant war against
the United States in Korea, the 500 million Chinese 24
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