In the late 1950s, when China and the Soviet Union were hostile, the Soviet Union withdrew all its personnel and materials in China and forced China to pay its debts.

Since then, because the Sino-Soviet border has not been determined, there have been numerous frictions and struggles between China and the Soviet Union in the disputed area of Zhenbao Island throughout the 1960s. Finally, in 1969, the Treasure Island incident happened. As a result, China won with 800 casualties and the Soviet Union with 60 casualties. The Soviet Union was ashamed and threatened to attack China with nuclear weapons. Shortly thereafter, both China and the Soviet Union deployed heavy troops on the border. After the Soviet Union took revenge in the past, it provoked conflicts on the Sino-Kazakh border in Xinjiang, and China was defeated. But small conflicts failed to trigger a big war.