The “Brotherhood” Phase

This chapter examines the highest level of Albanian-Chinese friendship. The period of the 1960s–1970s is characterized by great ideological and political solidarity, economic and trade cooperation, and close social and cultural relations. During this period, Albania completely broke away from the USSR, focusing entirely on deepening relations with China. The alliance between them also appears in the political vocabulary, being described as a “brotherly” relationship, based on the common opposition to “American imperialism” and “Soviet revisionism” and a common commitment to Marxism-Leninism. China, despite major problems, provided Albania with significant assistance during this period, during which Albania implemented a number of infrastructure projects and built industrial plants and hydroelectric power plants. This chapter also describes in detail Albania’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact in 1968, China’s and Albania’s reaction to the Prague Spring (1968), and Albania’s stance toward the Cultural Revolution in China. The chapter also analyzes in detail Albania’s diplomatic role in China’s admission to the United Nations through Resolution 2758 (1971). Thus, the phase of “brotherhood” is interpreted as the peak of ideological-strategic alignment, which would later give way to a new phase completely opposed to it.