French government cultivated relations with China for ten years before official recognition in 1964.

What is it about?

This article focuses on France’s policy towards Socialist China in the decade preceding the spectacular and well-studied decision by President Charles de Gaulle to officially recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It argues that since the mid-1950s successive French governments discreetly orchestrated a process of rapprochement with the Communist authorities in Beijing. The article demonstrates that, at a time when the international situation discouraged steps towards official relations, the French government used commercial diplomacy as a means to open unofficial diplomatic channels with the Chinese and prepare the ground for future recognition. Relying mostly on French archival sources, this article brings to light the evolution of French diplomacy’s thinking and assesses the rationales behind its growing determination to normalize relations with China and challenge the US demands for a harsh stance.

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Why is it important?

The long-held assumption in history of Cold War Sino-French relations is that it took de Gaulle's boldness to break the Western ranks and decide that France would recognise communist China. This article proves that de Gaulle's indeed bold decision was actually preceeded by a ten-year long rapprochement between the two countries, with French governemnts using commercial diplomacy as a means to open up unofficial diplomatic channels with the Chinese, and prepare the ground for future political recognition. Moreover, the article shows that the the French government (together with the British) pushed for a new Western stance on the matter and acted to put and end the US-led discriminatory embargo towards the PRC (ChinCom lists).