Letters | Xi’s China will beat Trump’s America in a cold war, if history is any guide
- The communists were no match for the Nationalists in a direct confrontation, yet they won the civil war through avoidance and espionage. Using Mao’s strategy, Xi is stepping up to the plate globally as Trump shuns global responsibility
Seventy years ago, Mao Zedong faced off against Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist government. The communists were no match for the Nationalists in any head-on confrontation. Luckily for Mao, the Japanese came and created the distraction Mao needed to carry out his plan. With the Nationalists busy with the Japanese, Mao purposely avoided confronting the Japanese. He used this time to infiltrate rural areas of China, gaining support among the peasantry.
Mao also planted spies and agents loyal to his cause at all levels of the Nationalist government. When the Japanese finally surrendered, the Nationalists found themselves in a dire situation. They did control the major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, but a majority of the countryside was under Communist influence, which disrupted the logistics between these major urban centres.
The Nationalist government was so full of communist agents, even the daughter of Fu Zuoyi, the general defending Beijing, was a spy. She and others around him were able to convince him to hand over Beijing to the communists without a fight. In the end, Mao came out on top and won the civil war.
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