why did the sino-soviet split have to happen?

I still don't understand how anybody can defend the foreign policy of the PRC at the time.

the PRC is still here, the USSR is not
- And if the PRC hadn’t supported its destruction maybe the USSR would still be here
- Cool. I guess every socialist project should just ally with the US and fight all of the other socialist projects. Down with international solidarity, up with helping the Imperial Core keep its hegemony! /s
  
  Now the PRC remains with much diminished allies, having assisted in the ruination of Afghanistan, driving Vietnam away, and with NATO still being the dominant force in the world.
- And Chinese policy during that time was a major factor in why that happened. Not the only one, but the USSR didn’t fall apart in a vacuum.
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Between that and the invasion of Vietnam, China was really brain broken during that time.

It’s just political realignment. When the US is strong, we support the USSR. When the USSR is strong and threaten our interest, we support the US to keep the Soviet ambition in check.

Play both sides and coming out on top have always been China’s strategy to defend its national sovereignty as a weak nation since independence. We only have two allies: the People’s Liberation Army and Navy.

The fact is that we’ve won - you can’t say that about the USSR. To win, you have to get rid of that idealist fantasy and willingto play dirty when it comes down it.
- It’s just political realignment. When the US is strong, we support the USSR. When the USSR is strong and threaten our interest, we support the US to keep the Soviet ambition in check.
  
  The US was strong, and yet, the PRC sided with the US. Also, I'm not really sure how siding with the US in Afghanistan and attacking Vietnam helped the PRC or socialists in the world.
  
  Also, I am going to note that it's not just the USSR whom the PRC aligned against, but national liberation movements of other countries that fought against colonialism.
  
  The fact is that we’ve won
  
  Has the PRC won, though? NATO is still up, in a dominant position, carrying out genocides. The allows of the USSR suffered massively from the loss, with many now being loyal vassals of the worst genocidal empire in the world.
  
  I am also going to note that the USSR DID try to ally with the US. That led to a destruction of its industries, death of millions, and many more plights.
- There’s an element of realpolitik that states have to conduct, and the path China took certainly managed to preserve the state in the midst of a hostile world, which can’t be discounted. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only path that could have worked, potentially.
  
  The realignment towards the US had massive negative consequences for socialist movements around the world. If, in a better timeline, the Split hadn’t happened, or if it had been healed, so many better things could have potentially happened.

Generally I feel with the Sino Soviet split, USSR was right for the wrong reason, PRC wrong for the right reasons.

What?
- Khrushchev (Cornman) was a cringe revisionist, but he did some good stuff. China was right on being critical of Cornman, but their actions after that were cringe.

Probably a lot of complicated geopolitical shit, but Khruschev is right there so why not just blame him? corn-man-khrush

Corn is a tool of ultimate power, uncaring for what ends its used. It built Khrushchev but also Xi. We need to deeply consider these lessons.
Good point, I think I will!

I know I’ve read something Carlos Martinez wrote that was pretty good at discussing the material reasons for the split, but for the life of me I can’t find it; maybe someone else knows what I’m talking about.

It didn’t come out of nowhere, but Khrushchev recalling Soviet advisors and tech transfers was a HUGE provocation. China had and still does highly value advancing their technological position. Reform and Opening Up was as much about advancing their tech capabilities as it was developing the productive forces. Also, there really was an ideological difference over the USSR seeking peaceful accommodation with the west (ironic given how China’s position in the 70s overshot the USSR’s stance on this by a good margin). That’s not the whole story, just a couple parts that I can recall.

Mao, being a true adherent of Socialism in One Country, knew: there can only be one.

Iirc, China used to support Japan and the JCP until the early 1980's. Mostly bc of the Soviet-Sino split and bc of Japan's economy. I guess there was a small period where China, Japan and the Koreas could have created their own economic bloc. But that quickly ended, the USSR ended the split in 1988 with Gorbachev visiting China, and Japan's economy got fucked.

It’s why Trotskyism lives in my mind like Homer and the clown college ad.

- There are hundreds of trotskyists orgs. They can't all be terrible right? Right?