BENJAMIN NULAND examines the opening relationship between China and the Soviet Union during the CCP’s first year of control over mainland China, from the conquest of Beijing in January 1949 to the signing of the Sino–Soviet Treaty in February 1950. It analyzes Soviet support for renewing China’s foreign relations, securing its borderlands, and promoting economic development, while also highlighting limits and misalignments in the partnership that contributed to growing tensions in the decades that followed.