Ho Chi Minh Meets Mao Zedong (1965)

This is a photograph taken in 1965 of Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong. Although the meeting seems cordial there had been tension between Vietnamese and Chinese through out their long histories. This was the year in which the US would begin its war against Vietnam. The Vietnamese and Chinese were allies with America during World War II fighting the Japanese Empire. When the Cold War starts America’s containment policy became more aggressive to Asian nations. When Mao established a communist government in 1949, the US was determined to have a dominating  presence in Asia. Ho Chi Minh thought the Americans would continue to be his allies, but instead supported the French during their struggle from colonial rule. The battle did not end with the French exit. South Vietnam under Ngo Diem became a quasi- puppet state under American supervision. Ho Chi Minh was determined to see the country unified and free from foreign influence. The Viet Cong waged war in South Vietnam and the US did not want to lose a compliant Asian state to its geopolitical framework. China did provide support to North Vietnam during the war, but not to the same degree as North Korea. It could have been racial hostility between the Chinese and Vietnamese was to deep too form a strong solidarity.  The major reason the US never did a ground invasion of North Vietnam was that it could have caused China to mobilize large forces of their own. The US did not want another Korea like scenario. Ho Chi Minh realized that if he could play both China and Russia off against one another, his source of aid would be vast.