I Socio-economic development of China at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. China: foreign policy. Basic principles, international relations China's reforms in the 21st century

The world's most populous country and second-largest economy continues to grow rapidly in the 21st century, and Chinese technology has already penetrated every aspect of the global economy and manufacturing. On the other hand, this is a unique country with a culture far from us, where one can feel an atmosphere of calm and regularity in the flow of life. It is believed that this is the only civilization where the physical type of the population did not change for 5,000 years.

This issue presents interesting photographs from everyday life in modern China in the 21st century.

Modern youth of China against the backdrop of new shopping and office complexes in Beijing, July 17, 2013. In China, according to the UN, about 12% of the country's 1.3 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day. This is about poverty.

Chinese inventor Tao and his homemade remote-controlled humanoid robot, Beijing, August 8, 2013. Tao completed his creation in less than a year, spending about $49,040. The robot, 2.1 meters tall and weighing 480 kg, turned out to be too tall and heavy to even leave the door of the inventor's house. But he can perform simple movements with his arms and legs, and also imitate the human voice.

On October 1, 1997, the Qin Shi Huangdi Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum was opened. The open-air museum complex has become the largest historical museum on the planet.

Qin Shi Huang is one of the most brutal rulers of China. While still alive, he gave the order to begin construction of the tomb. The emperor ordered about 4,000 soldiers to be buried with him, but then changed his mind and thus a terracotta army appeared, called upon to protect him in the afterlife. This army, which is 2,200 years old, has 8,000 warriors, 300 horses and 200 chariots.

In 1974, local peasants digging a well made the discovery of the century: the legendary terracotta army of the first emperor of China, Qing Shi Huang, was accidentally found: 7,000 warriors made of baked clay guarded the peace of their monarch. Scientists called the discovery the eighth wonder of the world.

The Oriental Pearl Tower is considered one of the most famous landmarks of modern Shanghai. It is the tallest TV tower in Asia (468 meters high) and the tenth tallest in the world. September 2, 2013.

The 18-meter Rubber Duck was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and has been traveling around the world since 2007 as a message of peace and solidarity. On September 6, 2013, she was in Beijing.

On July 22, 2013, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 occurred in the Chinese province of Gansu, in the central part of the country.

The aftermath of another earthquake in Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, on August 13, 2013. 45,000 houses were damaged, as well as several roads and bridges. The military is clearing the rubble.

Lightning over the horizon in the financial district of Shanghai, August 4, 2013. Shanghai is the first most populous city in the world (23.8 million people in 2012).

Beaver art installation made of plastic and approximately 300,000 quills.

Another example of respect for property rights. A new business center was supposed to be built here, but the owner refused to move, citing insufficient compensation. So she has been living here for a year without light or heat. In Russia, they would solve the problem of building a business center in 24 hours: they would bring in bulldozers and raze the house to the ground.

"Everyday life" in Chinese. The man on the left held his mother hostage for 24 hours and threatened to kill himself. On the right is a plainclothes policeman. After some time, the criminal was detained. His motives are unclear, August 26, 2013.

Copying is in the Chinese blood. The Eiffel Tower graces the local ghost town. Construction of Tianducheng City began in 2007. At the same time, a copy of the Eiffel Tower with a height of 108 m was built. The settlement can accommodate 10 thousand inhabitants. It was founded to attract wealthy Chinese citizens for whom French wine, handbags and vacations were an expression of a certain status. So far, the new city has not been so successful in this and has joined the ranks of the so-called ghost towns in China.

A look at the ghost town of Tianducheng and a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Zhejiang province from the other side, August 1, 2013.

A truck carrying pigs overturns on a highway in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on August 5, 2013. The pig is being dragged back to prevent it from escaping.

The launch of a launch vehicle from the launch pad of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, June 11, 2013. Long March-2F is a launch vehicle of the People's Republic of China, designed to carry out manned launches of the Shenzhou spacecraft.

A crane lifts up a piece from the Shanghai Tower, a super-tall building under construction in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. When completed in 2014, it is expected to be the tallest building in Shanghai, the first tallest in China and the third-tallest free-standing structure in the world.

A rescuer drops a box of drinking water from a helicopter. Flooded areas in Shantou, Guangdong province, hit by floods on August 21, 2013.

An employee of the KFC company earns good money - approximately $2.28 per hour. KFC is an American chain of catering cafes specializing in chicken dishes. It was founded in 1952. Today, the KFC chain is represented in 110 countries around the world - that's more than 16,000 outlets, which serve about 12,000,000 customers daily.

A private villa in the shape of a mountain rock on the roof of a 26-story residential building in Beijing, August 13, 2013.

A piece of clear sky on a cloudy day. This poster was specially installed in Hong Kong so that tourists could take pictures here on a rainy day, August 30, 2013.

In the northwestern part of Hunan Province in China there is an interesting place - Zhangjiajie National Park, created in 1982. 480,000 sq.m. subtropical forests, where you can see various species of plants, birds and animals, almost all of which are listed in the Red Book. The mountains are also a picturesque sight with huge rock pillars above the rainforest, waterfalls, a giant cave system and rivers suitable for rafting.

The series of events that quickly led to the revolution began in April 1911 with the signing of an agreement between the government and a group of banks in England, France, Germany and the United States regarding the transfer of the right to build the Huguang Railway in the center of China. On October 10, after an anti-Chinese plot was discovered in Hankou, which apparently had no connection with the events surrounding the Huguang Railway, troops rebelled in Wuchang. This event is considered the beginning of the revolution. The rebels soon captured the Wuchang mint and arsenal, and soon the cities, one after another, began to break away from the control of the Manchus. The regent, stricken with panic, immediately agreed to the adoption of a constitution long demanded by national forces and at the same time asked the retired former imperial viceroy, General Yuan Shikai, to return and save the dynasty. In November, Yuan Shikai was appointed head of government.

A provisional republican government was formed in Nanjing. At the same time, the leader of the democratic revolutionary movement, Sun Yat-sen, returned to China and was immediately elected president.

In December, Yuan Shikai agreed to a truce and entered into negotiations with the Republicans. On February 12, 1912, the young emperor was forced to abdicate the throne and proclaim that he was transferring power to the people's representatives. In turn, the Nanjing government agreed that the emperor would retain his title and receive a large allowance for life. To unify the country, Sun Yat-sen left the presidency, and Yuan Shikai was chosen for this position. General Li Yuanhong, * who played a prominent role in the Wuchang events, was elected vice president. In March 1912, the Nanjing parliament proclaimed a provisional constitution, and in April the government moved to Beijing.

However, subsequent events showed that the republic, established with such stunning speed and comparative ease, was doomed to witness progressive collapse over the next few decades. The main reason for this state of affairs was the split of China into two political camps - supporters of Yuan Shikai and supporters of the first president Sun Yat-sen.

In August 1912, Sun Yat-sen created the Kuomintang (National People's Party). Its program was based on the “three principles of Sun Yat-sen”: nationalism (freedom from foreign rulers), democracy (the establishment of a democratic republic) and people's welfare (equalization of land rights for all Chinese through the establishment of uniform prices for it).

After Chinese President Yuan Shikai launched an offensive against the Kuomintang, which had a majority in parliament, in early 1913 with the goal of establishing his own dictatorship in the country, Sun Yat-sen addressed the people with a call for a “second revolution.” In November 1913, Yuan Shikai banned the Kuomintang.

On May 1, 1914, Yuan Shikai passed through parliament a new constitution that gave him unlimited powers as president for a period of 10 years. That same year, Sun Yat-sen revived the Kuomintang. And after Yuan Shikai ceded Southern Manchuria and part of Inner Mongolia to Japan in 1915 and officially announced preparations for the restoration of the monarchy, the Kuomintang rebelled in Yunnan province. But on June 6, 1916, President Yuan Shikai died.

The new president was Li Yuanhong, who restored the 1912 constitution and parliament to the composition it had been in before the crackdown in 1914. However, actual power in the country passed into the hands of the generals. One of them, Duan Qirui, became the head of the Chinese government. However, already in 1917, the pro-Japanese sentiments of Duan Qirui and his supporters forced President Li Yuanhong to remove the head of government. However, no real shift occurred. At this moment, a military putsch broke out by generals - supporters of the monarchy. The coup was crushed by Duan Qirui's troops, who occupied Beijing and installed Feng Guozhang as president.

However, already in May 1918, a Kuomintang government independent from Beijing was again formed in the southern provinces of China, advocating the restoration of the 1912 constitution. A civil war began, which lasted just over two months, after which the parties began negotiations that lasted until 1920.

It must be said that, along with groups of Chinese generals, at that time another force was formed in China, which over time was destined to push all the others out of power. In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed, led by Li Dazhao and Mao Zedong.

In 1925, Sun Yat-sen died, and the Kuomintang split into supporters of rapprochement between the Kuomintang and the Communists and the USSR and adherents of an alliance with the Chinese generals. The latter were already expelled from the party in 1926, and the Kuomintang, led by Wang Jingwei, headed for an alliance with the CPC. In the summer of 1926, the Kuomintang, with the support of the CPC, began an armed struggle for the unification of the country (the so-called “Northern Expedition”). His goal was to defeat the northern generals and bring all of China under the central government. By the end of 1926, troops under the command of Kuomintang General Chiang Kai-shek, with the active assistance of the USSR, and the People's Revolutionary Army defeated almost all the main opponents except the “Country Pacification Army” under the command of Generalissimo Zhang Zolin.

Immediately after Chiang Kai-shek's troops entered Shanghai and Nanjing in March 1927, British and American naval forces in the region began an open invasion of China by sea.

After the capture of Nanjing, a split occurred again in the ranks of the Kuomintang into supporters of the head of government, Wang Jingwei, and supporters of Chiang Kai-shek. The capital of the first was Wuhan, and Chiang Kai-shek proclaimed Nanjing his capital. In April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek, due to constant pressure from the USSR on the Chinese communists regarding the need for the internal collapse of the Kuomintang, decided to refuse cooperation with the CPC. And by August 1927, the Wuhan representative office of the Kuomintang also made such a decision.

The split, of course, did not strengthen the People's Revolutionary Army, which was already defeated by the Japanese in 1927. Wang Jingwei and his supporters saw this event as an excellent reason to remove Chiang Kai-shek from his post as commander-in-chief. In September, a new Kuomintang government was formed in Nanjing, more concerned with fighting the communists than with Zhang Zuoling's army and his Japanese allies. On December 15, 1927, Nanjing announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the USSR, although Moscow did not officially recognize the Nanjing government. In January 1928, Chiang Kai-shek again became the head of the Kuomintang forces. Soon he announces the continuation of the Northern Expedition. On October 10, 1928, the Nanjing government was officially declared national. It was headed by Chiang Kai-shek.

After the break of the Kuomintang with the CPC, the communists, with the support of the USSR, began the struggle in 1929 to create red regions in China, that is, to establish communist power there. From 1929 to 1932, the Chinese Red Army repulsed 5 military campaigns of the Kuomintang troops. At the end of 1931, at the All-China Congress of Soviets, a unified government of the Soviet regions of China was elected, headed by Mao Zedong.

In the fall of 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria, where the state of Manzhouguo, independent from China, was proclaimed, headed by the last Qin Emperor Pu Yi. The independence of Manzhouguo was confirmed by the League of Nations, which sent its special commission there. This organization decided that Manzhouguo should be considered a Japanese colony.

The Japanese invasion forced China to change its relations with other neighbors, and in December 1932 the Kuomintang restored diplomatic relations with the USSR. In 1933-1935, the Japanese again invaded China and occupied the northern regions, including Beijing. At the same time, as a result of a massive offensive, the Kuomintang troops managed to oust the Chinese Red Army and the Soviets from the southern regions, but the communist forces, having broken through the ring of the Kuomintang armies, went to the northwest, to the province of Shaanxi, where they created a new large Soviet region.

In the 2nd half of 1936, hostilities between the Kuomintang troops and the Chinese Red Army practically ceased. On September 22, 1937, Marshal Chiang Kai-shek officially announced the creation of a united anti-Japanese front in China and cooperation with the CPC. The Red Army was renamed the 8th People's Revolutionary Army under the command of the communist Zhu De and began fighting the Japanese in the northeast of the country in Shanxi Province. Chiang Kai-shek became generalissimo.

However, the creation of a united anti-Japanese front and China's active military support for the USSR (Soviet pilots flying on Soviet planes fought on the side of the people's revolutionary army), and since 1941, the United States, were unable to stop the Japanese. By 1938, Japanese troops reached Tianjin and occupied Shanghai and Nanjing. By 1943 they had taken Canton, Hankou and Wuchang. In 1944, the Japanese advanced significantly northwest from Canton (to 105° east longitude) and west from Shanghai to the Beijing-Hankou railway. Only after serious defeats in the war with the United States in the Pacific did the scales begin to tip in China's favor.

After the USSR began military operations against Japan on August 9, 1945, the likelihood of civil war in China increased even more. Added to the active support of the Chinese Red Army by the USSR with weapons and ammunition was the fact that after the defeat and surrender of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria, all the weapons captured by the Soviet troops were transferred to the communist army. In addition, Soviet military advisers again appeared in the Chinese Red Army.

Given the current situation, Chiang Kai-shek, under pressure from the United States, which sought to reconcile the CPC and the Kuomintang and prevent a civil war, which could lead to a significant strengthening of the USSR’s position in the Far East, invited the CPC to enter into negotiations on the formation of governing bodies of the future democratic China. As a result of a conference held on this occasion in October 1945, it was decided to create a provisional government in which half of the seats would be occupied by representatives of the Kuomintang, and the other half by representatives of all other parties and political organizations.

In July 1946, the mutual distrust of the parties finally escalated into civil war. At this point, the Kuomintang side had an approximately fourfold advantage, however, given the equipment of the Chinese Red Army

The army with Japanese and Soviet weapons, on the one hand, and the US cessation of arms supplies to the Kuomintang army on the other hand, Chiang Kai-shek's advantage was not so significant. However, Chiang Kai-shek's armies crossed the conventional demarcation line between the spheres of influence of the Kuomintang and the CCP and in the spring of 1947 occupied the capital of the border region, Yan'an. In response, the Communists immediately launched a guerrilla war.

Already in January 1948, a split occurred in the Kuomintang. Those who support peace with the communists leave the party and take the side of the CCP. The consequences of the split were not long in coming. In the summer of 1948, the People's Liberation Army of China was formed, the basis of which is the Chinese Red Army, which goes on the offensive. As a result of offensive operations on January 31, 1949, the communists and their allies took Beijing. Negotiations with the Kuomintang that began after this did not produce any results, and by the summer of 1949, the Kuomintang troops were almost completely defeated. The remnants of Chiang Kai-shek's army, led by the Generalissimo himself, taking advantage of the fact that the entire existing Chinese fleet and most of the aviation were Kuomintang-owned, were evacuated to Taiwan and several small coastal islands. And only in certain areas of mainland China did the struggle with Chiang Kai-shek’s supporters continue until 1951. As a result, the Kuomintang Republic of China was formed in Taiwan, with Taipei as its capital and Chiang Kai-shek as its first president.

In September 1949, the Central People's Government of China was established in Beijing. Naturally, all the main government positions were occupied by communists. The government and the People's Revolutionary Military Council were headed by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai became the chairman of the State Council of China, and Marshal Zhu De became the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). And on October 1, 1949, in the main square of Beijing, Tiananmen, Mao Zedong announced the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The period 1950-1976 went down in history as the “Period of Two Chinas” - the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. However, it should always be borne in mind that not all states recognized Taiwanese China, nor did the PRC. Suffice it to say that until 1971, China was represented at the UN by Taiwan, and the USSR generally denied that there was any other China besides the PRC.

The first significant event after the formation of the PRC was the conclusion at the beginning of 1950 of a treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance with the USSR for a period of 30 years. According to its terms, the USSR transferred the Chinese Eastern Railway to China, carried out the withdrawal of troops from Port Arthur, provided the PRC with a preferential loan in the amount of 300 million US dollars and provided comprehensive assistance in restoring the Chinese economy. The PRC, in turn, recognized the independence of the Mongolian People's Republic and assumed the obligations of a military ally of the USSR in the Far East. In this capacity, the PRC army took part in the Korean War.

By 1952, China's economy had reached its pre-war level (1936) in terms of its main indicators. Not the least role in this was played by the liquidation of landownership and the creation of a huge number of small private agricultural farms and rural cooperative mutual aid partnerships, as well as the development of private entrepreneurship and the nationalization of large industrial enterprises. As a result, the public sector of the economy accounted for only 41% of industrial production. It is not surprising that the leadership of the CPC could not help but react to such a significant share of the non-state sector in the economy. And already in 1952, having decided that the economic restoration was completed and the bourgeoisie was no longer needed, the CPC put forward the slogan of fighting bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, sabotage of government orders, the use of secret economic information for personal purposes and bureaucracy, and also carries out the first extermination of the national bourgeoisie, which the communist-minded Chinese, according to the generally accepted model in the communist world, called the purge. As a result of this action, about 2 million people were killed. From this moment on, the PRC finally departs from the general democratic principles of state building and moves on to the construction of socialism.

At the end of 1952, the Central Committee of the CPC announced new tasks - by 1967, create modern industry in the country, socialist (that is, state-owned) agriculture, carry out a cultural revolution (that is, eliminate illiteracy among the population and instill in it communist ideas).

In 1954, a new constitution came into force in the PRC. According to it, the National People's Congress became the highest body of state power in the PRC. Supreme executive power still belonged to the State Council. In addition, the post of Chairman of the People's Republic of China was introduced. It was Mao Zedong.

By 1957, China's economy had undergone significant changes. Based on Soviet experience and the tasks of creating a powerful military potential, a national heavy industry was built in the PRC. The state bought out all private enterprises. Although much less than their actual value was paid for them, the former owners were left with increased salaries and special bonus payments. There is almost no private trade left in the PRC. Private producers have almost completely disappeared in agriculture. Over 96% of them were united into cooperatives, and 90% into farms like Soviet collective farms (that is, in fact, into state enterprises).

As might be expected, Chinese collectivization led to famine and peasant revolts in the countryside, which were suppressed by military force.

As a result, the 8th Congress of the CPC, held in 1956, was forced to abandon its policies and indirectly condemned Chairman Mao for speeding up the construction of socialism. Since “big brother,” as the USSR was called in the PRC, said so, the CPC leadership had to pretend for a while that the policy would be changed. A course towards democratization of society was announced. Dissent was no longer prosecuted, and political debate began within Chinese society.

However, Mao Zedong himself did not agree with this. Considering that from 1953 to 1957, industrial growth sometimes reached 19% per year, looking at the Soviet thaw with all its negative consequences from the point of view of building socialism, and also seeing that China again ceases to be a country of like-minded supporters of the ideas of Marx - Lenin - - Stalin - Mao, the leadership of the CCP gives instructions to arrest 100 thousand dissidents, and another 400 thousand were declared accomplices of the bourgeoisie. After this, in May 1958, the CPC convened a second session

VIII Party Congress. It condemned the course towards democratization and announced the policy of “three red banners”: a new party line, which provided for the accelerated construction of communism in China; a “great leap” in the economy, which meant an increase in industrial output over four years by 6.5 times, agriculture by 2.5 times, and steel and iron smelting by 8 times; the creation of people's communes, that is, the complete socialization of the entire life of the Chinese, with the goal of ensuring the minimum needs of everyone while accumulating everything created as state property. According to this plan, the PRC was supposed to overtake the USSR and the USA in 7 years, and in 10 years build communism.

The beginning of this “great creation” was made already in 1958. By the end of the year, almost all agricultural cooperatives in the country had been transformed into people's communes. From that moment on, every communard was considered mobilized for the construction of communism. He was not supposed to have anything of his own, except for small personal items. The communards were not supposed to live in separate families, but in barracks, eat in common canteens, and the children of the communards were raised not in families, but in special kindergartens. And of course, everyone had to work as much as their physical condition allowed.

Against the backdrop of gigantomania and the personal exaltation of Mao Zedong, the CPC began to have serious disagreements with the Soviet Union. In 1958, the USSR condemned the idea of ​​the “Great Leap Forward” as unrealistic, and Mao Zedong and his associates expressed disagreement with the CPSU over criticism of Stalin. Disagreements also arose in the military sphere. After Chinese artillery shelled one of the islands that belonged to Kuomintang China, Beijing turned to Moscow with a request to provide it with nuclear weapons and support the invasion of Taiwan with military forces. Fairly believing that this would be the third world war, the USSR refused. However, instead, Moscow proposed placing a base for its submarines on Chinese territory. But Mao Zedong did not agree to this.

After all these disagreements, the distance between the USSR and the PRC began to grow. Mao Zedong, under pressure from obvious problems in the economy, was forced to resign as Chairman of the People's Republic of China, and already in 1959 it became clear that the Soviet Union was right - the idea of ​​the “Great Leap Forward” failed (famine set in in the country, and by 1962 industrial production in China fell by more than 2 times). As a result of ongoing disagreements, in 1960 the USSR recalled its specialists from the PRC, and Chinese students stopped studying at Soviet universities.

In 1961, the CPC ceased the policy of “three red banners” and announced a new policy of “settlement of the economy”, which was carried out until 1965. This course in the history of the PRC is associated with the names of the new Chairman of the PRC Liu Shaoqi and member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee Deng Xiaoping, both of whom in history The CCP is usually called pragmatists in contrast to dogmatists - those supporters of Mao who unconditionally followed his teachings. During the implementation of the new policy, household plots and property were returned to the peasants, communes were dissolved, and production brigades were created in their place. For their work, workers now received wages depending on their qualifications. Peasants were now obliged to hand over only part of their products to the state, and at the same time they could choose for themselves what to grow on their plots, received permission to sell their products at newly opened bazaars, and also had the right to engage in household crafts and small trade. As a result of this course, the Chinese economy has achieved significant success. National income growth in 1963-1965 was 15.5% per year, and in October 1964, the country successfully tested its own atomic bomb. And only agriculture remained the only sector that was never fully restored after the implementation of the “three red banners” policy.

However, Mao Zedong and his comrades continued to insist that they were right and that the course followed by the CPSU was wrong. And in July 1963, the final break between the CPC and the CPSU occurred. Chinese communists accused the Soviets of abandoning the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and deliberately misleading the world communist movement for their own purposes. The USSR was declared a country of social-imperialism.

Mao Zedong and his followers were not happy with what was happening inside the PRC. Mao had a new idea - the need to carry out a “great proletarian cultural revolution” in the PRC. Its goal was to liberate the country from old cultural traditions, rules and habits, as well as from their bearers, who were no longer able to comprehend the new cultural norms that arose in connection with the new realities of the socialist economy. The implementation of this idea began in 1966.

In May 1966, a special group for the affairs of the “cultural revolution” was organized under the CPC Central Committee. It was led by Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing and Mao's personal secretary Chen Boda. The Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPC Lin Biao, also spoke out for cleansing the ranks of the CPC in the light of the “cultural revolution”. As a result, troops were sent to Beijing, and a number of prominent CCP figures who did not unconditionally agree with the “Great Helmsman” Mao Zedong and the dogmatists were removed from their posts. When the country saw that opponents of the PRC’s path to communism had even settled into the Central Committee of the CPC, detachments of defenders of Mao Zedong’s path, that is, the “cultural revolution,” voluntarily began to form in the country. They were called "Red Guards" ("Red Guards"). It must be said that, seeing this course of events, the pragmatists in the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee tried to stop the implementation of the next great idea of ​​Chairman Mao. To do this, they began preparations for the removal of Mao Zedong from the post of Chairman of the CCP to the position of Honorary Chairman of the Party. However, the “Great Helmsman” himself did not agree with this and, having sailed down the river for about 15 km, demonstrated to all of China that at 72 years old he was still quite capable of remaining the real head of the party.

In August, a special Plenum of the CPC Central Committee was held, which for the first time was attended not only by members and candidate members of the Central Committee, but also by unconditional adherents of Mao’s ideas from Chinese universities and the Red Guards. The pragmatists were criticized; Chairman Mao himself called for fighting opponents of the “cultural revolution”, no matter what positions they held. Now departments for the affairs of the “cultural revolution” were to be created in all organizations; the creation of young people of the Red Guards and Tsaofan (“rebels”) detachments was encouraged in every possible way, whose task was to actively spread the “cultural revolution” and actively fight against those who resist it.

The results of such propaganda and the activities of the Red Guards and Zaofans were immediate. The country's schools and universities ceased to function because the Red Guards who occupied them believed that the knowledge these institutions provided was outdated and no longer needed. Those residents of the country who fell into the ranks of the unreliable were sent to concentration camps “for correction.”

During the fight against counter-revolutionaries in 1969, the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Liu Shaoqi, was arrested and tortured in prison; Deng Xiaoping was removed from all positions and exiled to the provinces, where he was “re-educated”, working as a simple mechanic. In total, during the years of the “cultural revolution”, out of 97 members of the CPC Central Committee, 60 were declared traitors, spies and repressed.

To avoid mass outrage among the population due to the actions of cultural revolutionaries, in January 1967, Mao Zedong introduced martial law in the PRC. Responsibilities for maintaining order in the country were assigned to the army. Local authorities were replaced by revolutionary committees, which consisted of military personnel, Red Guards and reliable government officials. Soon after the introduction of martial law, the army came to the conclusion that the main source of unrest was not the activities of agents of international imperialism, but the unbridledness and excesses of the Red Guards and Zaofan. And already in the summer of 1968, the army began to evict Red Guards and Zaofans from cities to the countryside. This process ended only in 1976. In total, about 30 million people were expelled.

In the spring of 1969, the 9th Congress of the CPC was held. He declared the victory of the “cultural revolution”. But along with this, it was concluded that the final victory of socialism in the PRC is impossible as long as imperialism led by the USA and social-imperialism led by the USSR exist. Therefore, the PRC must continue to fight with all its might to keep its country clean from traitors and spies and prepare for war. At the congress it was again stated that the theoretical basis for the activities of the CPC are the ideas of Chairman Mao. Lin Biao was appointed his official successor.

Of course, preparing for war has been a top priority for the PRC since its founding. But if earlier the main enemies were the USA and Kuomintang China, then since 1963 the USSR gradually entered this list at No. 2 (immediately after the USA). In response to this position of the PRC, the USSR, within the framework of a mutual assistance treaty, sent troops into the Mongolian People's Republic.

In 1969, Chinese troops attacked the Soviet border island of Damansky, and in August crossed the border into the Semipalatinsk region (modern Kazakhstan). Immediately after these events, the armed forces of the USSR in the Far East were put on high alert. Everything was heading towards the point that war would break out and Soviet aviation would strike at the PRC’s nuclear facilities. However, in September, Chairman of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai managed to ease the tension. He invited the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin to Beijing, and during a short meeting the severity of mutual claims was significantly weakened.

But Lin Biao strongly disagreed with this turn of events. His position became even sharper when the PRC began a rapprochement with enemy No. 1 - the United States. The fact is that US President R. Nixon decided to change his position regarding Taiwan. In 1970, mutual consultations began on the issue of US recognition of the PRC. In response, Lin Biao introduced martial law in the country and further tightened the detention of political prisoners. But in 1971, this was not enough for Lin Biao, and he led a conspiracy against Mao Zedong. However, the train Mao was traveling on was not blown up. And very soon after that, Lin Biao died in a very timely plane crash.

The 10th Congress of the CPC, held in 1973, condemned the group, Lin Biao. After the congress, Deng Xiaoping was rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, relations between China and the United States were increasingly improving. In February 1972 and December 1975, American Presidents R. Nixon and G. Ford visited Beijing. And since 1972, the United States finally agreed to replace the representative of the Kuomintang China with the representative of the PRC at the UN. In the same year, Japan and China established diplomatic relations with each other. Under the terms of the agreement, China waived its share of reparations paid by Japan after 1945.

On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong died, and Premier of the State Council Hua Guofeng became his heir. With the help of the military, he managed to defeat four of Chairman Mao's closest associates - Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, Wang Hongwen, who were called the "gang of four." After their arrest, Hua Guofeng announced the end of the “cultural revolution.” However, already at this moment the results of the revolution were more than tangible. More than 100 million people were repressed, of which 8-10 million died.

By the end of 1978, a group of pragmatists led by Deng Xiaoping ousted the consistent Maoists led by Hua Guofeng. The December plenum of the CPC Central Committee in 1978 marked the beginning of the reform process in the PRC, or “the construction of New China,” as the Chinese themselves called it. In 1980, Hu Yaobang became the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Zhao Ziyang took the post of Prime Minister instead of Hua Guofeng. In 1981, Hua Guofeng also resigned as chairman of the CPC Central Committee. In 1982, this position was abolished. The reformists won a final victory.

At the first stage of reforms in 1979-1984, the main attention was paid to agriculture. Families, teams or cooperatives received land in contract for up to 50 years. They handed over part of the production to the state under a contract; the peasants disposed of the rest of the harvest at their own discretion.

Since 1984, Chinese industry has switched to new operating principles - self-sufficiency, self-financing, independent sales of products, contract and rental systems. Foreign capital began to be widely attracted into the Chinese economy. 14 major cities and ports were declared open to it. A special province, Hainan, was created and became a completely open zone. Four special economic zones were created for foreign entrepreneurs - Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Semen, Shantou. The state had to regulate market relations.

Economic reforms ensured an unprecedented rise in the national economy in 1980-1988. China has solved its food problem by collecting more than 400 million tons of grain per year. Peasants' incomes increased more than 3 times. The average annual growth rate of gross industrial output in 1979-1988 was 12%, of agriculture - 6.5%. The well-being of city residents increased 2.6 times.

The 12th and 13th Congresses of the CPC in 1982 and 1987 approved the progress of economic reforms and directed the people to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. The recognized leader of “perestroika” in China and the largest Communist Party in the world (more than 46 million people in 1987, 51 million in 1992) was Deng Xiaoping, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee

Central Committee of the CPC, who held the posts of Chairman of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Central Commission of Advisors and other positions in the party and state. The new principles of the pragmatic Maoists were reflected in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China adopted in 1982.

Elements of market relations in the Chinese economy, some liberalization in the field of culture, and the influence of the West caused the rise of the democratic movement, the vanguard of which was student youth and part of the intelligentsia. They demanded the democratization of the country's social system and the abandonment of the CPC's leadership role. On the night of June 3-4, 1989, Tiananmen Square was stained with the blood of students. Thousands of young people died. More than 120 thousand people were arrested. The West rightly condemned the bloody massacre of the Maoists against the democratic movement and imposed economic sanctions against the PRC. However, Gorbachev did not condemn the violations of human rights and freedoms in China.

Most CCP leaders were afraid of the political consequences of the reforms, and were also wary of the impact of the progress of Soviet perestroika on China. In mid-1988, the government sharply reduced loans to enterprises and slowed down reforms. Salaries in the country dropped to 200 yuan (70 marks). There was a sharp drop in industrial production.

After the June 1989 events in Tiananmen Square, Zhao Ziyang was accused of inspiring student protests. He lost his post. The Shanghai party-crat, Deng Xiaoping's protégé Jiang Zeming, became the General Secretary. Deng Xiaoping himself resigned at the end of 1989, but continued to lead the CCP from behind the scenes. The years 1989-1992 passed in the PRC under the sign of reprisals against democrats. The struggle against “bourgeois liberalization” was intensified and a campaign was launched to “learn from Lei Feng,” that is, from the example of the life of a PLA soldier. The CCP rejected political reform and did not agree to the separation of party and state power.

The recession in the economy forced the leadership of the CPC to declare at the XIV Congress (autumn 1992) about the continuation of reforms and the transition to “socialist market relations.”

In March 1993, a session of the National People's Congress of China elected Jiang Zemin as Chairman of the People's Republic of China. Li Peng was re-elected as prime minister.

People's Republic of China

1 Socio-economic development of China at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

2 Political development of China at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

3 Foreign policy of China at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

I Socio-economic development of China at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

By the end of the 1970s, after the death of Mao Zedong, the PRC found itself in a difficult socio-economic and political situation; there was a decline in the living standards of the main strata of Chinese society.

The reformer Deng Xiaoping, who found himself at the head of the state, set a course for creating a mixed economy, using market mechanisms, and attracting foreign capital.

Under the guise of building “socialism with a Chinese face,” “capitalism with Chinese characteristics” was built.

Reasons for reforms:

First, in 1978, two years after the death of Mao Zedong, the CCP was on the verge of a political crisis. Endless ideological campaigns and internal party struggles for power led to the loss of trust of the Chinese people in the Communist Party. Two companies were especially significant - the “Great Leap Forward” (1958-1959) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1969). Deng Xiaoping understood that in order to restore confidence in government, it was necessary to carry out economic reforms aimed at improving people's living standards.

Second, by 1978, China's economy was stagnating. Real incomes have remained virtually flat for more than 10 years. China did not have enough foreign currency to purchase the necessary imports. The technological gap between China and developed countries has been measured for decades. Meanwhile, neighboring countries in Southeast Asia were showing what growth rates market economies could achieve.

Thirdly, redundancy and poverty of the rural population. More than 70% of the population lived in rural areas. The income from agriculture was only enough for survival. Opportunities for additional income were limited. Hidden unemployment was an even bigger problem, which only became apparent with decollectivization in 1978-1979. For the rural population, the reforms were less evil than the continuation of the existing system. In addition, the huge surplus of labor was an important resource for the development of the industrial sector.

Fourth, the CCP had a strong administrative system. In the past, this power network was used to implement Mao Zedong's economic policies. Deng Xiaoping understood that this administrative resource could also be effectively used to carry out economic reforms.

A policy of “four modernizations” was proclaimed - agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology.

Stages of reforms:

The first covers 1978-1991. and includes two stages: 1978-1983. - rural reform and experiment in the city to expand the independence of enterprises; 1984-1991 - experiment with reforming state-owned enterprises, creating special economic zones.

The second period covers 1992-2003. radical market reforms, the goal of which is to create a system of socialist market economy. At the center of the reform are the slogans: “to create a system of modern (competitive) enterprises in place of state-owned enterprises”, “reliance on science and education”, “creation of a middle-income society (xiaokang)”.

The third period began in 2003, it is associated with the tandem of Chinese leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabal, and is characterized by the country’s turn to resource-saving and environmentally friendly economic growth in the interests of the harmonious development of regions and improving the quality of life of people. The impetus for developing a new course was the spread of SARS in China. The implementation of the new course is the main task of the 11th Five-Year Plan, the main idea of ​​which is harmonization - the equalization of regional development, reducing inequality between city and countryside, between regions, solving social problems, energy saving and solving environmental problems based on the scientific concept of development.

Deng Xiaoping's reform measures:

¾ increase by 25 - 30% of purchase prices for agricultural products while reducing taxation in the countryside,

¾ revision of tariff rates for approximately 40% of workers and employees, wider use of bonus payments,

¾ introduction of various subsidies in connection with rising retail prices.

¾ “production responsibility system”, has been consistently implemented since 1979.

The essence of “production responsibility” was that the peasant household, having received land (in some cases the same plots that belonged to it before, before collectivization), entered into a contract with the management of the production team, representing the interests of the state. The contract did not limit peasants to certain forms of economic use of the land, but only provided for the payment of an agricultural tax to the state and the sale of part of the harvest to the state. All surpluses remaining in the peasant household could be used depending on the desires of the peasants and market conditions. At the same time, purchase prices were significantly increased and they were higher, the more surplus products were handed over to the state.

¾ reform at state-owned enterprises was accompanied by giving them the opportunity to independently determine the need for labor, terms and conditions of employment. Since 1982, a system of employment contracts was introduced, which stipulated working conditions and remuneration and the duration of performance of official duties.

¾ There were also changes in the wage system. Before the reform, 90% of workers received a fixed salary, depending on the tariff schedule. During the reforms, there was a departure from this order: wages for more than 40 million workers and employees were converted to piecework.

¾ Started in the mid-80s. Social security reform unfolded in several directions.

The first of them is a policy to reduce direct government subsidies, a surge in which in the early years of reforms (10 times in 2 years) was explained by the desire to compensate for price increases. As the market became saturated, the scope of card supply, which was also a veiled form of price subsidies, gradually declined.

The second is the creation of a system of state social security with the aim of more equitable access to it for all citizens and the liberation of enterprises from the increasingly heavy “social burden” for them. In 1986, after two years of experiments, a decision was made on a gradual transition to a centralized system of pension provision. Enterprises, in accordance with the standards established by local social insurance authorities, began to contribute funds to city and provincial pension funds.

The year 1986 was significant for the organization of a support system for the unemployed, which extended to those laid off due to redundancy, due to bankruptcy of enterprises or the end of their employment contract without the possibility of obtaining a new job.

The third direction of the reform of the social security system is its reconstruction in accordance with the requirements of a market economy, namely: expanding the scope of paid services and connecting the funds of the workers themselves to the formation of social insurance funds. Since 1992, an experiment was launched in a number of regions to form pension funds with the inclusion of payments from the wages of the workers themselves.

After Deng Xiaoping's reforms, the Chinese economy developed rapidly. In 2003-2005, GDP increased by an average of 9-10% per year. China has created a large mining and manufacturing industry, and developed the production of electronics and communications equipment. In 2003, China became the third country (after the USSR and the USA) to carry out a human flight into space.

China's economic success has generated interest in its model of a market economy with strict party-state control. The main reason for China's rapid economic growth is the fact that its economy is not limited by a shortage of labor and capital. China has at its disposal a huge army of hardworking workers who have moved from the countryside to the city, and free capital that has appeared thanks to foreign investment and the ability of the Chinese themselves to save and accumulate savings.

The disadvantages of the Chinese economic system include the low efficiency of the public sector, corruption, and uneven development of various areas. The modern cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou are adjacent to backward agricultural areas.

Fascist coups in Japan, their causes and consequences

IN 1932 and 1936 happened in Japan putsch by “young officers” - nationalistically minded officers of the Japanese army.

May 15, 1932 to the official apartment Prime Minister Inukai A group of naval officers invaded, who first fired randomly from revolvers at the police officers who blocked their way, and then shot at Inukai himself, mortally wounding him.

That evening, several groups armed with hand grenades and revolvers simultaneously attacked the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the headquarters of the ruling Seiyukai Party, the Bank of Japan, the Mitsubishi Bank, the police headquarters, a power plant and threw bombs.

Young army and navy officers took part in the putsch, dissatisfied with the ratification of the 1930 London Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Arms. The putschists distributed leaflets with calls to fight against parliamentary parties and financial cliques, for the transfer of power to the military, who would establish order in the country. After the action was carried out, the participants in the putsch turned themselves in to the gendarmerie.

The young nationalist officers were convinced that the only way to overcome political corruption and extreme rural poverty in the country was to eliminate a few senior politicians.

The putsch began early in the morning; about 1.5 thousand Japanese army soldiers took the side of the rebels. The rebels managed to capture central Tokyo, including the Diet, Interior, and Defense buildings, and killed several influential political leaders. They also attempted to capture the prime minister's residence and the imperial palace, but encountered resistance from the Imperial Guard.

Despite their statements of full support of the imperial power, the emperor sharply condemned their actions, declaring them illegal. The demoralized rebels surrendered to government forces. 19 leaders of the coup were executed.

The rebels had a large list of people sentenced to death. It consisted of two parts: main goals and secondary ones.

China: economic and political transformations of the 80s - 90s. XX century

Chinese society at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries.

Second stage of reforms (1984-87)

· transformation of the city's economic structure;

· introduction of free market regulation;

The following areas of combating bankruptcy were developed:

– leasing such enterprises to groups or individuals;

– sale of shares of unprofitable enterprises to workers and employees;

– merger of unprofitable and profitable enterprises while observing the principles of voluntariness, proportionality of forces, support of banks and taking into account the peculiarities of the moment.

Third stage of reforms (1987)

· China's internal economic reform was inextricably linked with its foreign economic policy;

· decision on the “strategic development of coastal areas”: the areas were declared open, free for the influx of foreign equipment, technology and capital;

· a zone of “outward-oriented economy” was identified, which covered the entire coastal coast of China

Purpose of this policy– to obtain funds from outside for the development of the Chinese economy, to open the influx of the latest equipment and technology into the country, to fit into the world economy, to find sources of investment, markets and sources of raw materials abroad.

An extensive program was adopted political reform :

ü party sectoral departments that duplicated the activities of government bodies were abolished;

ü the departments of propaganda, organizational and party work, the united front department, the general department, and the commission for checking party discipline were preserved;

ü an election procedure was introduced in which the number of candidates exceeded the number of mandates;

ü a plan for restructuring the government apparatus and reforming the personnel system was approved;

ü the number of ministries and committees was reduced;

ü a new system of promotion arose: those who more effectively ensured the implementation of economic reforms in their district or province began to be promoted;

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference began to play an important role, thanks to which a system of multi-party cooperation and consultations was carried out under the leadership of the CPC.

1989 - “Beijing” spring, clashes between students and government troops → “curtailment” of reforms, finance becomes the main lever for regulating the Chinese economy.

Chinese society at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries.

ü the problem of reforming state-owned enterprises arose. Chinese leaders were concerned about the declining share of the public sector in industry;

ü a financial reform was carried out and a single exchange rate was introduced, which fluctuated based on supply and demand in the foreign exchange market;

ü the new system contributed to the formation of a single all-Chinese foreign exchange market and the development of foreign trade;

ü The People's Bank of China was transformed into the Central Bank.

At the end of the 19th century. ZhuRongji called on the masses to become allies in the decisive battle with the conservative bureaucracy, which has been radically transformed and updated. The following tasks were also set:

– for peasants – support for grain prices;

– for entrepreneurs – reform of the investment and financial system;

– for those who have property – acquisition of housing on a commercial basis;

– implementation of health care reform;

– liberation of the economically active population from extra-budgetary extortions from local authorities.

IN 2002 became General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Hu Jintao. Adherence to Mao Zedong Thought, the socialist path, the people's democratic dictatorship and the leadership of the Communist Party formally remain constitutional principles. Only the leadership principle of the CPC remains unshakable. China has its own interpretation of democracy, as well as democratic principles, including “human rights”. The main direction of the social and economic policy of the Chinese leadership was to increase the living standards of workers.

In 2005 was held in China tax reform : More than 40% of citizens were exempt from income tax. The main goal of the PRC fiscal system is to prevent a large gap in income.

The Chinese leadership tried in every possible way to mitigate the consequences of the global economic crisis of 2008. Despite the continuing decline in global indicators, 2011 China has become the second largest economy in the world after the United States, surpassing Japan. However, in terms of quality of life, China is still far from developed countries. Due to the huge population, Chinese citizens live 10 times worse than the Japanese.

At the present stage, China, having become the second economy in the world, strives to have the appropriate military potential. From time to time, Chinese leaders declare that China does not threaten anyone and that huge amounts of the military budget go solely for defensive purposes. In its development, China has already become strong enough to “expand the strategic boundaries of its space” by force. At the same time, internal problems have reached such proportions that such expansion becomes necessary.

The preservation of their territories is the result of centuries-old traditions. China, whose foreign policy has unique features, consistently defends its interests and at the same time skillfully builds relations with neighboring states. Today, this country confidently lays claim to world leadership, and this has become possible, among other things, thanks to the “new” foreign policy. The three largest states on the planet - China, Russia, the USA - are currently the most important geopolitical force, and the position of the Celestial Empire in this triad looks very convincing.

History of China's foreign relations

For three millennia, China, whose borders still include historical territories, has existed as a major and important power in the region. This vast experience in establishing relationships with a wide variety of neighbors and consistently defending one’s own interests is creatively applied in the country’s modern foreign policy.

China's international relations are influenced by the nation's general philosophy, which is largely based on Confucianism. According to Chinese views, a true ruler does not consider anything external, therefore international relations have always been considered as part of the internal policy of the state. Another feature of ideas about statehood in China is that, according to their views, the Celestial Empire has no end, it covers the whole world. Therefore, China sees itself as a kind of global empire, a “Middle State”. China's foreign and domestic policies are based on the main principle - Sino-centrism. This easily explains the fairly active expansion in different periods of the country’s history. At the same time, Chinese rulers have always believed that influence is much more significant than power, so China established special relations with its neighbors. Its penetration into other countries is associated with economics and culture.

Until the mid-19th century, the country existed within the framework of the imperial ideology of Greater China, and only the European invasion forced the Celestial Empire to change its principles of relations with its neighbors and other states. In 1949, the People's Republic of China is proclaimed, and this leads to significant changes in foreign policy. Although socialist China declared partnerships with all countries, the world was gradually divided into two camps, and the country existed in its socialist wing, together with the USSR. In the 70s, the PRC government changes this distribution of power and declares that China is between superpowers and third world countries, and that the Celestial Empire will never want to become a superpower. But by the 80s, the concept of “three worlds” began to falter - the “coordinate theory” of foreign policy appeared. The strengthening of the United States and its attempt to create a unipolar world have led China to declare a new international concept and its new strategic course.

"New" foreign policy

In 1982, the country's government proclaims a “new China”, which exists on the principles of peaceful coexistence with all states of the world. The country's leadership skillfully establishes international relations within the framework of its doctrine and at the same time respects its interests, both economic and political. At the end of the 20th century, there was an increase in the political ambitions of the United States, which felt itself to be the only superpower that could dictate its own world order. This does not suit China, and, in the spirit of national character and diplomatic traditions, the country's leadership does not make any statements and changes its line of behavior. China's successful economic and domestic policies place the state among the most successfully developing at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. At the same time, the country diligently avoids joining any side of the world’s numerous geopolitical conflicts and tries to protect exclusively its interests. But increasing pressure from the United States sometimes forces the country's leadership to take various steps. In China, there is a separation of concepts such as state and strategic boundaries. The former are recognized as unshakable and inviolable, while the latter, in fact, have no limits. This is the country’s sphere of interest, and it extends to almost all corners of the globe. This concept of strategic boundaries is the basis for modern Chinese foreign policy.

Geopolitics

At the beginning of the 21st century, the planet is engulfed by the era of geopolitics, i.e., there is an active redistribution of spheres of influence between countries. Moreover, not only superpowers declare their interests, but also small states that do not want to become raw materials appendages to developed countries. This leads to the emergence of conflicts, including armed ones, and alliances. Each state is looking for the most beneficial development path and line of behavior for itself. In this regard, the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China could not help but change. In addition, at the present stage, the Celestial Empire has gained significant economic and military power, which allows it to claim greater weight in geopolitics. First of all, China began to oppose maintaining a unipolar model of the world; it advocates multipolarity, and therefore, willy-nilly, it has to face a conflict of interests with the United States. However, the PRC is skillfully building its own line of behavior, which, as usual, is focused on defending its economic and domestic interests. China does not directly declare claims to dominance, but is gradually pursuing its “quiet” expansion of the world.

Principles of foreign policy

China declares that its main mission is to maintain peace throughout the world and support universal development in every possible way. The country has always been a supporter of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, and this is the basic principle of the Celestial Empire in building international relations. In 1982, the country adopted a Charter, which sets out the basic principles of China's foreign policy. There are only 5 of them:

The principle of mutual respect for sovereignty and state borders;

The principle of non-aggression;

The principle of non-interference in the affairs of other states and the prevention of interference in the internal politics of one’s own country;

The principle of equality in relationships;

The principle of peace with all states of the planet.

Later, these basic postulates were deciphered and adjusted taking into account changing world conditions, although their essence remained unchanged. Modern foreign policy strategy assumes that China will contribute in every possible way to the development of a multipolar world and the stability of the international community.

The state proclaims the principle of democracy and respects differences in cultures and the right of peoples to self-determination of their path. The Celestial Empire also opposes all forms of terrorism and in every possible way contributes to the creation of a fair economic and political world order. China strives to establish friendly and mutually beneficial relations with its neighbors in the region, as well as with all countries on the planet.

These basic postulates are the basis of China’s policy, but in each individual region in which the country has geopolitical interests, they are implemented in a specific strategy for building relationships.

China and the USA: partnership and confrontation

Relations between China and the United States have a long and difficult history. These countries have long been in a latent conflict, which was associated with America's opposition to the Chinese communist regime and support for the Kuomintang. The reduction in tension began only in the 70s of the 20th century; diplomatic relations between the United States and China were established in 1979. For a long time, the Chinese army was ready to defend the country’s territorial interests in the event of an attack by America, which considered the Celestial Empire its enemy. In 2001, the US Secretary of State stated that she considered China not an adversary, but a competitor in economic relations, which meant a change in policy. America could not ignore the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the build-up of its military power. In 2009, the United States even proposed to the leader of the Celestial Empire to create a special political and economic format - G2, an alliance of two superpowers. But China refused. He often disagrees with American policies and does not want to take part of the responsibility for them. The volume of trade between states is constantly growing, China is actively investing in American assets, all this only reinforces the need for partnerships in politics. But the United States periodically tries to impose its own scenarios of behavior on China, to which the leadership of the Celestial Empire reacts with sharp resistance. Therefore, relations between these countries are constantly balancing between confrontation and partnership. China says it is ready to be “friends” with the United States, but will under no circumstances allow its interference in its politics. In particular, the fate of the island of Taiwan is a constant stumbling block.

China and Japan: complicated neighborly relations

The relationship between the two neighbors was often accompanied by serious disagreements and strong influence on each other. From the history of these states there are several serious wars (7th century, late 19th and mid-20th centuries) that had serious consequences. In 1937, Japan attacked China. She received serious support from Germany and Italy. significantly inferior to the Japanese, which allowed the Land of the Rising Sun to quickly capture large northern territories of the Celestial Empire. And today, the consequences of that war are an obstacle to the establishment of more friendly relations between China and Japan. But these two economic giants are today too closely linked by trade relations to allow themselves to conflict. Therefore, the countries are moving towards gradual rapprochement, although many contradictions remain unresolved. For example, China and Japan will not come to an agreement on several problem areas, including Taiwan, which does not allow the countries to get much closer. But in the 21st century, relations between these Asian economic giants have warmed significantly.

China and Russia: friendship and cooperation

Two huge countries located on the same continent simply cannot help but try to build friendly relations. The history of interaction between the two countries goes back more than 4 centuries. During this time there were different periods, bad and good, but it was impossible to interrupt the connection between the states, they were too closely intertwined. In 1927, official ties were interrupted for several years, but at the end of the 30s, ties began to be restored. After World War II, communist leader Mao Zedong came to power in China, and close cooperation between the USSR and the PRC began. But with N. Khrushchev coming to power in the USSR, relations deteriorated, and only thanks to great diplomatic efforts they were able to be improved. With perestroika, relations between Russia and China are warming significantly, although there are controversial issues between the countries. At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, China is becoming the most important strategic partner for Russia. At this time, trade ties are strengthening, technology exchange is growing, and political agreements are being concluded. Although China, as usual, first of all looks after its own interests and steadfastly defends them, and Russia sometimes has to make concessions to its big neighbor. But both countries understand the importance of their partnership, which is why today Russia and China are great friends, political and economic partners.

China and India: a strategic partnership

These two largest ones have a more than 2-thousand-year relationship. The modern stage began in the late 40s of the 20th century, when India recognized the PRC and established diplomatic contacts with it. There are border disputes between states, which prevents greater rapprochement between states. However, economic Indian-Chinese relations are only improving and expanding, which entails a warming of political contacts. But China remains true to its strategy and does not concede in its most important positions, carrying out a quiet expansion, primarily in the Indian markets.

China and South America

A major power like China has its interests around the world. Moreover, not only the closest neighbors or countries of equal level, but also very remote regions fall within the state’s field of influence. Thus, China, whose foreign policy differs significantly from the behavior in the international arena of other superpowers, has been actively seeking common ground with the countries of South America for many years. These efforts are achieving success. True to its policy, China is concluding cooperation agreements with the countries of this region and is actively establishing trade ties. Chinese business in South America is associated with the construction of roads, power plants, oil and gas production, and partnerships are developing in the field of space and automotive manufacturing.

China and Africa

The Chinese government is pursuing the same active policy in African countries. The PRC is making serious investments in the development of the states of the “black” continent. Today, Chinese capital is present in the mining, manufacturing, military industries, construction of roads and industrial infrastructure. China adheres to a de-ideologized policy, adhering to its principles of respect for other cultures and partnership. Experts note that Chinese investments in Africa today are already so serious that they are changing the economic and political landscape of this region. The influence of Europe and the United States on African countries is gradually decreasing, and thus China’s main goal is being realized - a multipolar world.

China and Asian countries

China, as an Asian country, pays a lot of attention to neighboring countries. At the same time, the stated basic principles are consistently implemented in foreign policy. Experts note that the Chinese government is extremely interested in a peaceful and partner-like neighborhood with all Asian countries. Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan are an area of ​​special attention for China. There are many problems in this region that worsened with the collapse of the USSR, but China is trying to resolve the situation in its favor. The PRC has achieved serious success in establishing relations with Pakistan. The countries are jointly developing a nuclear program, which is very scary for the United States and India. Today, China is negotiating the joint construction of an oil pipeline to provide the Celestial Empire with this valuable resource.

China and North Korea

An important strategic partner of China is its closest neighbor, the DPRK. The leadership of the Celestial Empire supported North Korea in the war in the mid-20th century and has always expressed its readiness to provide assistance, including military assistance, when necessary. China, whose foreign policy is always aimed at protecting its interests, is looking for a reliable partner in the Far Eastern region in Korea. Today China is the DPRK's largest trading partner, and relations between the countries are developing positively. For both states, partnerships in the region are very important, so they have excellent prospects for cooperation.

Territorial conflicts

Despite all its diplomatic skill, China, whose foreign policy is distinguished by subtlety and well-thought-out, cannot solve all international problems. The country has a number of disputed territories that complicate relations with other countries. Taiwan is a sore subject for China. For more than 50 years, the leadership of the two Chinese republics has not been able to resolve the issue of sovereignty. The island's leadership has been supporting the US government for years, and this has not allowed the conflict to be resolved. Another unsolvable problem is Tibet. China, whose border was determined in 1950, after the revolution, believes that Tibet has been part of the Celestial Empire since the 13th century. But the indigenous Tibetans, led by the Dalai Lama, believe they have the right to sovereignty. China is pursuing a tough policy towards the separatists, and so far there is no solution to this problem in sight. China also has territorial disputes with Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, and Japan. The Celestial Empire is very jealous of its lands and does not want to make concessions. As a result of the collapse of the USSR, China was able to obtain part of the territories of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.