Beijing's Economic Statecraft during the Cold War, 1949-1991

Beijing’s Economic Statecraft during the Cold War, 1949–1991, describes China’s use of economic instruments in pursuit of foreign policy goals from the foundation of the People’s Republic to the end of the Cold War. Providing an in-depth case analysis of China’s economic diplomacy from 1949 to 1991, Shu Guang Zhang focuses on the nuts and bolts of Beijing’s policymaking and aims to reconstruct China’s economic statecraft behaviors, both historically and conceptually. Beijing’s Economic Statecraft not only assesses how China’s foreign economic policies played out in its relations with the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan, but also looks at how Moscow, Hanoi, Pyongyang, Tirana, and Ulan Bator interacted with Beijing in their political economic relations.

The book is based on a wide array of new sources: diplomatic documents from Chinese and Russian archives, the Nixon Presidential Materials Project, translated documents collected by the Cold War International History Project, recently published writings of Chinese leaders, chronologies of these Chinese leaders, and publications by Chinese scholars.

Shu Guang Zhang is professor and vice rector for academic affairs at the Macau University of Science and Technology. 

Introduction: Economic Statecraft Revisited

1. Countering the China Embargo and the Origins of the PRC’s Economic Statecraft, 1949–1955

2. Seeking Soviet Aid While Resisting Moscow’s Influence, 1953–1963

3. Transforming Economic Diplomacy While Aiding African and Asian Countries, 1955–1970

4. Moderating Japan’s Hostility through Manipulating Expectations of Trade Opportunities, 1955–1972

5. Aiding North Korea, Mongolia, and Albania to Confront Russia, 1960–1972

6. Aiding Hanoi’s War against America and Competing with Russia, 1960–1972

7. Reshaping Economic Statecraft in the Age of Rapprochement and Opening Up, 1970s–1980s

8. Leveraging Economically Chinese-American Relations, Late 1980s–Early 1990s

Conclusion: Beijing’s Economic Statecraft for the Twenty-First Century

Appendix A: Chronology of the PRC’s Foreign Economic Cooperation, 1950–1985

“…provides the readers with a very detailed description and in-depth analysis of how China’s economic statecraft, or the use of economic weaponry in diplomacy, evolved during the Cold War years.”—Xiaoming Zhang, Pacific Affairs

“Readers desiring a comprehensive, analytical history of the economic dimensions of the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China in its first four decades should welcome this hefty volume.… Recommended.”—R. P. Gardella, Choice

“A worthy addition to the plethora of China studies of our times.”—Xiaoyuan Liu, Iowa State University

“A major contribution to our understanding of China’s economic statecraft in particular as well China’s foreign relations in general.”—Yafeng Xia, Long Island University