Challenger Research Journal

The deterioration of the relationship between China and East Germany was critical and has been under-researched. Many scholars have emphasized the importance of diplomatic events in contributing to such a deterioration. Yet, less focus was paid to Chinese internal policies, specifically the Great Leap Forward. Though implemented nationally, the Great Leap Forward had an international influence on the GDR's national situation and its relationship with China. This paper will argue that the Chinese Great Leap Forward was instrumental to the collapse of the Sino-East German relationship in 1961, specifically analyzing how the Great Leap Forward contributed to this relationship shift within the context of the Sino-Soviet Split. In terms of the primary sources, while most of them will be archival government documents, interviews from native Chinese people who experienced the event will also be taken into account as oral history.