1962: The Eve of the Left Turn in China's Foreign Policy - Claude Arpi

changes in domestic politics and began as a change in the guiding principles ofChinese foreign policy.For this reason, several issues are worth noting for their impact on Beijing’ssubsequent foreign policy. First, it was probable that the changes in the guidingprinciple were implemented gradually, which, logically closely linked them withchanges in the domestic political situation. It was thus quite probable that the domesticsituation played a major role in the final outcome of the changes. Second, the change inthe guiding principle might manifest itself differently in different aspects of foreignrelations, and in some aspects it might even be constrained by previous policies. Third,in certain policy issue areas, the change in the guiding principle might not be carriedout at all. Therefore, it can be argued in this sense that 1962 was the eve of the “left”turn in PRC foreign policy, though further careful examinations of the evolution ofChinese foreign policy after 1962 are needed.###About the authorNiu Jun received a Ph.D. from The People's University of China in 1988 and is currently Professorat the School of International Studies, Peking University, where he teaches the history of PRCforeign relations and analysis of Chinese foreign policymaking. His current research is focused onthe Cold War and the origins of China’s foreign policy, 1948-1955. His publications include:Cong yanan zouxiang shijie: zhongguo gongchandang duiwai zhengce de qiyuan [From Yan’an tothe World: The Origin and Development of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy] (Fuzhou: FujianPeople's Press, 1992 and Norwalk: Eastbridge, 2005); Towards a History of Chinese CommunistForeign Relations, 1920s-1960s, co-edited with Michael Hunt (Washington, DC: Asia Program,Woodrow Wilson Center, 1995); and Lengzhhan yu zhongguo [The Cold War and China],co-edited with Zahng Baijia (Beijing: Shijie zhishi Press, 2002). He would like to thank WangDong for his help in rendering this paper into English.36