Social Sciences in China, 2018

Vol. 39, No. 2, 2018

Changes in Diplomatic Philosophy in the Course of China’s Growth since 1949—The Shift from a Revolutionary and National Perspective to a Developmental and Global Outlook

(Abstract)

Zhang Baijia

Changes in international and diplomatic perspectives and concepts remain an open question in studies of the history of the PRC’s foreign relations. In the first 30 years after the founding of the PRC in 1949, Chinese diplomacy was strongly influenced by foreign relations concepts formed during the revolution. Its basic demand was for the establishment of a new type of foreign relations in which independence, autonomy and peace were the core concepts and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were the cornerstone of foreign policy. In addition, the international united front strategy, real-world strategic divisions, and considerations of war, peace and revolution had a significant effect on Chinese foreign policy during this period. Since reform and opening up to the outside world in the late 1970s, Chinese diplomacy has adopted a development-oriented perspective involving a series of strategic and policy adjustments that conform to the demands of the central task of national economic construction. Peace and development have been reassessed in the light of the international situation, and the earlier foreign policy of independence, autonomy and peace has been reinterpreted. Chinese foreign policy is committed to the establishment of balanced foreign relations and the incremental reform of the international order, and it resolutely adheres to the path of peaceful development; this has made it a participant and builder of the existing international order. With the advent of the 21st century, China has attracted international attention as a newly emerging major power, and its philosophy of foreign relations, while carrying on the legacy of the past, also advances with the times. China stresses that the contemporary world is a community of shared future, and seeks cooperation and win-win relations with all countries.

Keywords: PRC, diplomacy, perspective, concept