Red China: Pactmanship

In its time of trouble and hunger, Red China presumably looks to Russia for help. But to judge by the 1961 trade agreement between the Big Two of the Communist world published last week, the Red Chinese asked for bread and were given a stone.

Last year's agreement grandiosely called for a 10% increase over 1959's Sino Soviet trade target of nearly $2 billion. Russia was to supply mainly machinery and finished goods, to be paid for with Chinese foodstuffs and raw materials. But with its well-publicized drought ("for 40 days it was possible to drive a car along the...

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