Europe and China: Economic and cultural contacts to elude Cold War constraints since the mid-1950s.

What is it about?

The long-held assumption is that communist China started opening to the capitalist West only in the late 1970 – the Reform and Opening era – and mainly prompted by US policy of reahcing out to Beijing. In this special issue we combine the different perspectives and approaches of international, diplomatic, business, and cultural historiographies to demonstrate the existence of significant relations and exchanges between West European countries and Socialist China already in the early decades of the Cold War. We offer a broad mapping of these relations, explain their rationales of both sides, and reveal China’s a long-term policy towards the capitalist world.

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Why is it important?

Our findings question the degree of constraint the Cold War placed upon governments other than the superpower, and shed new light on Western Europe's role in the Cold War. We bring to the fore the activities of civil actors in circumventing the barriers defined by the superpowers, be they political, economic, or cultural. We show the relevance and impact of long-term patterns of Sino-European relations for China’s long path towards modernity and globalization, and hence for understanding China’s ambition to become a world player.