ABSTRACT
After the PRC was established, the government launched a propaganda campaign to promote popular understanding of “Sino-Soviet friendship.” This was not an easy task, given a long history of animosity between China and Russia. In the name of internationalism and in the hope of Soviet assistance, the Chinese regime decided to put away past grievances. The result was high-flown rhetoric brushing aside past difficulties, as well as tendentious redefinitions of the gray areas in bilateral relations. This rhetoric generated mixed reactions from Chinese society, but, overall, it had a marked impact on a large segment of the population.
