Final answer:
China's adoption of communism and subsequent actions in the 1950s and 60s fueled global fears of communism, particularly due to its influence in developing nations, internal reforms like the Great Leap Forward, and the Sino-Soviet split.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why Did Early China's Communism Stir Fear?
During the 1950s and 60s, China's shift to communism under Mao Zedong stirred fears of communism's spread, especially after its involvement in the Korean War and the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The fear of communism was further exacerbated by ideological competition for influence in developing nations and the breakdown of cooperation with the Soviet Union, leading to a perceived monolithic communist threat during the Cold War. The Chinese Communist Party's internal policies, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, aimed at modernizing China through collective agriculture and industrialization, resulting in millions of deaths. Despite their common ideology, the Sino-Soviet split revealed competition and diverging visions for communism, contributing to the global fear and misunderstanding of communism's threat.