Acknowledgments

T o embark on this project, I was inspired by the pioneering works of the first generation of Chinese historians of Cold War and modern Chinese history, in particular Shen Zhihua's study on the Korean War and Sino-Soviet relations.I met Professor Shen for the first time when he was giving a lecture at my MA alma mater in Beijing.His response to my inquiry about the Sino-Vietnamese War officially ushered me into the field of Cold War study.I am very grateful to him and Li Danhui for their unwavering support, encouragement, and counsel throughout writing this book.Of course, it is not the last word on this topic.I trust it can furnish some answers, provoke more discussion, and serve as a stepping stone for future works in exploring Chinese communist history and the entanglements among the communist parties during the Cold War.When I undertook this project, I could never have imagined that I would encounter so many difficulties and be indebted to so many people for their trust, advice, help, and encouragement.I was fortunate to have the scholarly input of