The shift of Rhodesian liberation movements toward the Eastern Bloc was a defining feature of the 1960s, largely dictated by the Sino-Soviet Split. When the USSR and China fell out ideologically, it forced liberation movements across Africa to "pick a side" to secure funding and arms.
ZAPU and the USSR: The "Big Brother" Alliance

ZANU split from ZAPU in 1963, partly because some members felt ZAPU’s leadership was too focused on international diplomacy and not enough on internal militancy.

Finding the USSR already "booked" by ZAPU, ZANU turned to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China was eager to compete with Soviet influence in Africa. The relationship was solidified through Herbert Chitepo and later Robert Mugabe.

ZANU adopted the Maoist strategy of a "People's War"—the idea that the revolution must start with the peasantry in the countryside rather than the urban working class.

China provided training at the Itumbi camp in Tanzania and supplied ZANU with small arms (AK-47s, SKS rifles) and landmines, which were better suited for the rugged terrain of eastern Rhodesia than the heavier Soviet equipment.