Editing Sino-Soviet split (section)

=== Transition from idealism to pragmatism (1976–1978) ===
[[File:Lin Biao.jpg|thumb|right|The elimination of Marshal [[Lin Biao]] in 1971 lessened the political damage caused by Mao's Cultural Revolution and facilitated the PRC's transition to the ''[[Realpolitik]]'' of the Tri-polar Cold War.]]
In 1971, the politically radical phase of the [[Cultural Revolution]] concluded with the failure of [[Project 571]] (the ''coup d'état'' to depose Mao) and the [[Lin Biao incident|death]] of the conspirator Marshal [[Lin Biao]] (Mao's executive officer), who had colluded with the [[Gang of Four]]—[[Jiang Qing]] (Mao's last wife), [[Zhang Chunqiao]], [[Yao Wenyuan]], and [[Wang Hongwen]]—to assume command of the PRC. As reactionary political radicals, the Gang of Four argued for regression to Stalinist ideological orthodoxy at the expense of internal economic development, but soon were suppressed by the PRC's secret intelligence service.<ref name="Yao Wenyuan">{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/5381892|title=Yao Wenyuan|newspaper=The Economist|issn=0013-0613|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501231531/https://www.economist.com/node/5381892|url-status=live}}</ref>

The re-establishment of Chinese domestic tranquility ended armed confrontation with the USSR but it did not improve diplomatic relations, because in 1973, the [[Soviet Army]] garrisons at the Sino-Soviet border were twice as large as in 1969. The continued military threat from the USSR&nbsp;prompted the PRC to denounce "Soviet [[social imperialism]]", by accusing the USSR of being an enemy of [[world revolution]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Albert|last1=Szymanski|title=Soviet Social Imperialism, Myth or Reality: An Empirical Examination of the Chinese Thesis|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41035250|journal=Berkeley Journal of Sociology|date=n.d.|issn=0067-5830|pages=131–166|volume=22|jstor=41035250|access-date=7 August 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214218/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41035250|url-status=live}}</ref> Mao's statement that "the Soviet Union today is under the [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]], a dictatorship of the big bourgeoisie, a dictatorship of the [[Nazism|German fascist]] type, a dictatorship of the Hitler type." was also repeated by China's state press many times in the 1970s, reiterating the diplomatic position.<ref>{{Cite book|title=China and the three worlds : a foreign policy reader|date=2018|others=King C. Chen|isbn=978-1-351-71459-4|location=London [England]|chapter=13|oclc=1110226377}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Salisbury|first=Harrison E.|date=3 May 1970|title=Peril to Chinese-Soviet Talks Is Seen in Diatribes|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/03/archives/peril-to-chinesesoviet-talks-is-seen-in-diatribes-chinasoviet-talks.html|access-date=29 September 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929034352/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/03/archives/peril-to-chinesesoviet-talks-is-seen-in-diatribes-chinasoviet-talks.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Soviet Union today: socialist or fascist?|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-5/cpml-soviet-fascists.htm|access-date=29 September 2021|website=www.marxists.org|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812111904/https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-5/cpml-soviet-fascists.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Sino-Soviet relations would slowly and gradually improve during the 1980s.

Soon after [[Death and state funeral of Mao Zedong|Mao's death]] in September 1976, the Gang of Four were arrested, putting an end to the Cultural Revolution. [[Hua Guofeng]] succeeded as the [[paramount leader of China]], but only briefly.<ref name=":27">{{Cite news |last=Faison |first=Seth |date=1997-02-20 |title=DENG XIAOPING IS DEAD AT 92; ARCHITECT OF MODERN CHINA |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/20/world/deng-xiaoping-is-dead-at-92-architect-of-modern-china.html |access-date=2021-01-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At the [[11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party]] in summer 1977, the politically rehabilitated [[Deng Xiaoping]] was appointed to manage internal modernization programs, and in December 1978, Deng replaced Hua as the new paramount leader at the [[3rd plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]].<ref name=":27" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-12-07 |title=40 years ago, Deng Xiaoping changed China — and the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/12/19/40-years-ago-deng-xiaoping-changed-china-and-the-world/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Avoiding attacks upon Mao, Deng's political moderation began the realization of [[Chinese economic reform]] by way of systematic reversals of Mao's inefficient policies, and the transition from a [[planned economy]] to a [[socialist market economy]].<ref name="Modern Thought 1999. pp.&nbsp;349">''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'', Third Edition, Allan Bullock, Stephen Trombley editors. HarperCollins Publishers:London:1999. pp.&nbsp;349–350.</ref><ref name="Political Terms 1983. pp.&nbsp;127">''Dictionary of Political Terms'', Chris Cook, editor. Peter Bedrick Books: New York: 1983. pp.&nbsp;127–128.</ref>