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CHINESE NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT, 1945-1964: SOVIET AND AMERICAN INFLUENCES

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Date Issued:
1979
Summary:
Chinese nuclear weapons policy reflected, to a significant degree, the pressures and influences exerted by the Soviet Union and the United States. It seems certain that the Chinese perception of national and international interest would inevitably have led to the development of an independent nuclear weapons system, but that eventual decision emerged in response to specific Soviet and U.S. policies. A pattern of Sino-American military confrontations during the 1950's, in which there were implicit and explicit U.S. warnings of the use of nuclear weapons against China, precipitated the Chinese decision to develop nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union extended significant technological assistance to the Chinese nuclear program, particularly in the years 1957 to 1959. Ambiguity in the Soviet policy on nuclear assistance to China, followed by the cut-off of aid to the program in 1959, was crucial to the Sino-Soviet split and reinforced the Chinese decision to proceed independently with a nuclear weapons program. From 1959 to 1964 the Chinese program was a unilateral effort, although dependent on facilities of Soviet design and American and Western European trained scientists.
Title: CHINESE NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT, 1945-1964: SOVIET AND AMERICAN INFLUENCES.
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Name(s): RYAN, MARK ANTHONY.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Dow, Tsung-I, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1979
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 139 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Chinese nuclear weapons policy reflected, to a significant degree, the pressures and influences exerted by the Soviet Union and the United States. It seems certain that the Chinese perception of national and international interest would inevitably have led to the development of an independent nuclear weapons system, but that eventual decision emerged in response to specific Soviet and U.S. policies. A pattern of Sino-American military confrontations during the 1950's, in which there were implicit and explicit U.S. warnings of the use of nuclear weapons against China, precipitated the Chinese decision to develop nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union extended significant technological assistance to the Chinese nuclear program, particularly in the years 1957 to 1959. Ambiguity in the Soviet policy on nuclear assistance to China, followed by the cut-off of aid to the program in 1959, was crucial to the Sino-Soviet split and reinforced the Chinese decision to proceed independently with a nuclear weapons program. From 1959 to 1964 the Chinese program was a unilateral effort, although dependent on facilities of Soviet design and American and Western European trained scientists.
Identifier: 13997 (digitool), FADT13997 (IID), fau:10819 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.
Subject(s): Nuclear disarmament
China--Politics and government--1949-1976
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13997
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.