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China Return to Civil War
During World War II, the United States emerged as a major actor
in Chinese affairs. As an ally it embarked in late 1941 on a
program of massive military and financial aid to the hard-pressed
Nationalist government. In January 1943 the United States and
Britain led the way in revising their treaties with China, bringing
to an end a century of unequal treaty relations. Within a few
months, a new agreement was signed between the United States and
China for the stationing of American troops in China for the common
war effort against Japan. In December 1943 the Chinese exclusion
acts of the 1880s and subsequent laws enacted by the United States
Congress to restrict Chinese immigration into the United States
were repealed.
The wartime policy of the United States was initially to help
China become a strong ally and a stabilizing force in postwar East
Asia. As the conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists
intensified, however, the United States sought unsuccessfully to
reconcile the rival forces for a more effective anti-Japanese war
effort. Toward the end of the war, United States Marines were used
to hold Beiping and Tianjin against a possible Soviet incursion,
and logistic support was given to Nationalist forces in north and
northeast China.
Through the mediatory influence of the United States a military
truce was arranged in January 1946, but battles between
Nationalists and Communists soon resumed. Realizing that American
efforts short of large-scale armed intervention could not stop the
war, the United States withdrew the American mission, headed by
General George C. Marshall, in early 1947. The civil war, in which
the United States aided the Nationalists with massive economic
loans but no military support, became more widespread. Battles
raged not only for territories but also for the allegiance of cross
sections of the population.
Belatedly, the Nationalist government sought to enlist popular
support through internal reforms. The effort was in vain, however,
because of the rampant corruption in government and the
accompanying political and economic chaos. By late 1948 the
Nationalist position was bleak. The demoralized and undisciplined
Nationalist troops proved no match for the People's Liberation Army
(PLA). The Communists were well established in the north and
northeast. Although the Nationalists had an advantage in numbers of
men and weapons, controlled a much larger territory and population
than their adversaries, and enjoyed considerable international
support, they were exhausted by the long war with Japan and the
attendant internal responsibilities. In January 1949 Beiping was
taken by the Communists without a fight, and its name changed back
to Beijing. Between April and November, major cities passed from
Guomindang to Communist control with minimal resistance. In most
cases the surrounding countryside and small towns had come under
Communist influence long before the cities. After Chiang Kai-shek
and a few hundred thousand Nationalist troops fled from the
mainland to the island of Taiwan, there remained only isolated
pockets of resistance. In December 1949 Chiang proclaimed Taipei,
Taiwan, the temporary capital of China.
Data as of July 1987
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