This text considers the importance of various factors which influenced the policies of each country during the Cold War including strategic considerations, domestic politics and ideology.

Mending Fences illuminates the forces driving Moscow’s China policy, from the Ussuri River clashes in 1969 to the "strategic partnership" of the 1990s. Elizabeth Wishnick analyzes the efforts of Soviet leaders simultaneously to maintain their supremacy in the international communist movement, defend their borders from a perceived Chinese threat, and ensure the compliance of regional authorities in enforcing China policy.