ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF CHINESE DIPLOMACY DURING DENG XIAOPING’S REFORMS OF THE 1970S

Qi Gaomeng

The article reconstructs the economic dimension of Chinese diplomacy in the second half of the 1970s as a key mechanism for the PRC’s transition from a foreign policy logic of ideological mobilization to the pragmatics of modernization-oriented development. It demonstrates that, against the background of the exhaustion of the autarkic model and growing technological lag, the diplomatic service was reoriented toward the systematic attraction of capital, technologies, and managerial practices, while overseas missions effectively acquired the functions of analytical centers for economic intelligence and negotiation platforms. The role of the “diplomatic breakthrough” of 1978–1979 is examined, including the applied character of high-level visits, the normalization of relations with Japan and the United States, the diversification of European technological sources, and the institutional preparation of conditions for special economic zones and joint ventures. The analysis emphasizes that integration into international financial structures and adaptation to trade norms were accompanied by complex balancing between sovereignty and openness, as well as by a transformation of China’s rhetoric toward “mutual benefit” and “peaceful development.” As a result, diplomacy appears not as an auxiliary, but as a system-forming instrument of accelerated restructuring of the national economy and the formation of a stable external reputation as a reliable partner.

Keywords:Chinese diplomacy, economic reforms, open-door policy, economic modernization, international cooperation