Moscow, Nauka Publishing House. 1983. 184 p.

The analysis of the PRC's policy towards Western European states is reflected in a number of monographs and articles by Soviet researchers .1 However, while special monographic studies have been devoted to China's relations with Great Britain and Germany, 2 the Sino-French relations, which perhaps most clearly revealed the characteristic features of the European policy of the Beijing leadership, have not yet found a comprehensive monographic study.

Relations with France are one of the main elements of China's European policy. France's place in China's foreign policy is determined both by the centuries-old traditional ties between the two countries and by the role that Paris plays in the system of international relations. France was the first imperialist State to establish full diplomatic relations with China. At present, China-France relations have a high level of political cooperation, not only on bilateral issues, but also on many fundamental issues of world politics.

In the research of T. I. Sulitskaya, a researcher at the Institute of the Far East of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences, the history of relations between Beijing and Paris for more than 30 years of the PRC's existence is analyzed in detail and their specifics, role and place in the system of international relations as a whole are revealed. The study of this problem in the context of the goals and methods of the entire foreign policy strategy of the PRC, and especially in Western Europe, allows us to trace the processes of evo-

1 See, for example, China and the Capitalist Countries of Europe, Moscow, 1976; Koloskov B. T. Foreign Policy of China 1969-1976. Osnovnye faktory i vedushchie tendentsii [Main factors and leading trends], Moscow, 1977; Lomykin V. P. Zapadnaya Evropa v vneshnoi politike Pekin. In the book. International Relations in the Far East in the Post-war Years, vol. 2, Moscow, 1978; Kapitsa M. S. China: Three Decades - Three Policies, Moscow, 1979.

2 Sladkovsky M. I. Kitay i Angliya, Moscow, 1980; Stepanov A. I. FRG i Kitay, Moscow, 1974.

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It clarifies the position of the Chinese leadership on a number of major international issues: disarmament, European security, Indochina, relations with the USSR and the countries of the socialist commonwealth, and with the liberated states.

T. I. Sulitskaya drew on a wide range of sources and literature: materials of the CPC congresses, NPC sessions, publications of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, UN documents, debates in the French parliament, speeches of state and political figures of France. Memoir literature is widely used. For the first time, interesting materials from the memoirs of the former French Ambassador to China, Doyen of the diplomatic corps in Beijing E. Manak "Memories of Far Asia"are introduced into scientific circulation .3
The author's proposed periodization of Sino-French relations is justified both by the foreign and domestic policies of the PRC and France, and by the general course of development of international relations. In the early years of the PRC's existence, the Chinese leadership's desire to develop economic and political ties with Western European countries came across an anti-Chinese position, which Paris, which fell into the wake of Washington's Atlantic policy, took in the early 50s (pp. 17-18). Based on the scrupulously collected factual material, the author also shows the position of those most far-sighted representatives of the French bourgeoisie who called on the government to withdraw from subordination to Washington's anti-Chinese policy (pp. 7, 14-17). They believed that the development of versatile ties with China would help strengthen French positions in Asia, facilitate the solution of the Indochina problem that was most painful for France in the early 50s, and at the same time have a certain impact on the evolution of the internal political situation in China. Despite the absence of diplomatic relations, France retained its traditional channels of communication with the PRC, took a "special" position with regard to the employees of the former Chinese embassy, and did not recall the staff of its former embassy in China until the end of 1953 (pp. 17-20). Given the already precarious position of France in Indochina, Paris sought to avoid conflicts with the Chinese government, as it was afraid of increasing Chinese military assistance to the Vietnamese national liberation forces (p.20).

In turn, China, the author notes, actually recognized the special rights of France in Vietnam: "France's continued limited INFLUENCE in Indochina gave the Chinese leadership the opportunity to maneuver, exert some pressure on the DRV government, and not be afraid of the appearance of a more militarily powerful enemy in the face of the United States on its southern borders" (p.19).

It was these considerations on both sides that ensured a political compromise at the Franco-Chinese summit talks held within the framework of the 1954 Geneva Conference on the Restoration of Peace in Indochina. Using the material published in recent years, the author has largely re-examined the participation of the People's Republic of China in the Geneva Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the great Powers, when representatives of China for the first time had the opportunity to conduct direct negotiations with the leading capitalist countries - Britain and France. An analysis of the materials on the secret negotiations of the head of the Chinese delegation, Zhou Enlai, with Bidault, and then with Mendez-France in Geneva and Bern shows that the Chinese leadership made significant concessions to the French side, moved away from the declared position of unconditional support for the national liberation forces of Indochina (pp. 36-38). The bourgeois press rightly dubbed the compromise reached during the negotiations between Zhou Enlai and Mendes-France "the Munich of Asia."

The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France opened a new stage in the development of bilateral relations. The author notes that for the ruling circles of Beijing, the rapprochement with France in the early 60s was the first concrete step on the path of China's foreign policy reorientation towards the West (pp. 65-66). Beijing needed to achieve rapprochement with capitalist Europe "without losing face" in front of developing countries, hiding behind slogans of anti-Americanism. The Chinese leadership used the anti-American orientation of the policy of French President Sh. de Gaulle, declaring France " an example-

3 Manach E. Memoires d'Extreme - Asia. Tt. I - II. P. 1978 - 1980.

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voi", the country of the "second intermediate zone" and ascribing to it "anti-imperialist" tendencies (p. 65). Indeed, in the mid-60s, France, more than other capitalist countries in Western Europe, demonstrated its independence from Washington in its foreign policy.

Analyzing the reasons why the Chinese leadership chose this option for its foreign policy "debut" in Europe. Paris, the author notes that it was essential for China that France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, an active participant in NATO and the EEC, that it has broad traditional ties with many African countries, has a dynamically developing economy, and produces modern types of military equipment (pp. 65-66).

Already in the early 60s, Beijing and Paris shared the same views on the problem of nuclear weapons and disarmament, as well as the problem of peace in Indochina. China's intention to extend its influence to the former French colonies in Africa was also a reason for China to seek diplomatic relations with France. By developing economic, scientific and technical ties with France, China sought to strengthen its economy (pp. 65-77). For the de Gaulle government, diplomatic relations with China were an additional trump card in the confrontation with Washington, and also served as a certain balance for initiatives aimed at developing cooperation with the Soviet Union.

In turn, relations with France were also important for Beijing. For the first time, normalization of relations was achieved with a State that not only maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but also officially declared its unwillingness to interrupt them (pp. 78-83). This created a precedent that was later used in the elaboration of various compromise formulations, on the basis of which diplomatic relations with Canada, Japan, and then the United States were established.

During the Cultural Revolution, Sino-French relations deteriorated dramatically. This period was marked by harsh attacks on French foreign policy and President de Gaulle personally, clashes between Chinese students in Paris and the police, and the siege of the French embassy in Beijing (p. 96). T. I. Sulitskaya does not limit herself to the generally accepted references to "the costs of Red Guards 'diplomacy". She sees one of the reasons for the sharp change in the attitude of the Beijing leadership towards the French government in China's dissatisfaction with France's policy of developing cooperation with the Soviet Union, especially after General de Gaulle's visit to Moscow in the summer of 1966 (pp. 96-99).

The turn towards rapprochement with the West was reflected in the general character of Sino-French relations: the Beijing leadership tried in every possible way to give them a particularly confidential," privileged " character (p. 105). China has used Paris as a springboard for expanding diplomatic activity in Europe.

A significant part of the study is devoted to identifying the role of France in the development of Sino-American contacts (pp. 105-110). The many-sided mediation activities of the French Ambassador to Beijing, E. Manac, confidential negotiations between French politicians and Chinese leaders in China, secret negotiations in Paris between H. Kissinger and Chinese Ambassador Huang Zheng - all this greatly contributed to the success of the visit of the US President R. Kissinger. Nixon's visit to China in 1972 marked the beginning of Washington's rapprochement with Beijing. The author explains France's ambivalent assessment of this rapprochement by saying that "the French government, which has made so much effort to make Sino - American contacts possible, understood that as Sino-American relations strengthen, Sino-French relations will gradually lose their privileged character" (p.110).

A number of objective factors contribute to maintaining the mutual interest of Beijing and Paris in maintaining a high level of political cooperation. Among them, the author mentions the closeness of the Chinese and French points of view on certain aspects of disarmament, the desire to build up their own nuclear missile potential, the rejection of most peace initiatives aimed at limiting weapons within the UN, and the promotion of disarmament demands mainly addressed to the USSR and the United States (pp. 110-115).

An important aspect of Sino-French cooperation, the author notes, is-

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China is interested in receiving the latest equipment and technologies from France, primarily in such areas as aviation, nuclear technology, electronics, and communications, especially since these industries are the most developed in the French economy (pp. 154-164). The author pays attention to the consideration of consistently expanding military cooperation between the two countries.

In our opinion, the monograph should briefly describe the general features and peculiarities of French colonial policy in Asia, and show the degree of continuity of traditional methods in the new conditions. Sometimes the author exaggerates the role of China and the degree of its influence on the development and implementation of the foreign policy course of the capitalist countries of Western Europe (pp. 122-141).

In conclusion, it is important to note the relevance of the study of China's relations with one of the leading capitalist states in Europe in the context of a complicated international situation, when the West's attempts to use China as a counterweight to the Soviet Union and undermine the USSR's policy of normalizing relations with the People's Republic of China have intensified.

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