The Soviet-Chinese Split lasted from the late 1950s to 1962. After Stalin's death in 1953, Mao Zedong, China's leader, considered himself the new senior leader of the relations between China and the Soviet Union. He became offended when Nikita Khrushchev and Georgi Malenkov, the new Soviet leaders, did not acknowledge this. Mao Zedong was also angered when Khrushchev publicly criticized Stalin. Khrushchev held a summit with Dwight Eisenhower in 1959 because the Soviet Union had become alarmed by the developments being made in China and wanted to appease the West. The Soviet Union was aware that the United States could equal their nuclear power. They were aiming to gain negotiations that could prevent the outbreak of war, along with keep them from giving China access to nuclear weapons. Mao Zedong was further offended when the Soviet Union dishonored their commitment to help China produce nuclear weapons and give support during China's border dispute with India. The Soviet-Chinese split became known in 1960, when the Soviet Union and China began to publicly clash.
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