毛澤東의 外交路線 硏究 = (A)Study of Mao's Foreign Policy Line

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A Study of Mao's Foreign Policy Line

Nam Chil­Woo
Ph. D. Program
Department of Political Science
Graduate School,
Kon­Kuk University


This is to explain and analyze diplomatic policy of Mao Zedong
through original chinese reaction for various problems such as Chinese
own historical events, the counterpart diplomacy and the world situation,
since the establishment of Chinese Communism. On the most of existing
data for Chinese diplomatic policy, Chinese diplomacy from the
establishment of the Communist regime to the death of Mao Zedong in
the mid 1970, is considered as Mao Zedong's individual diplomatic act.
In this study, various features of Mao Zedong's diplomatic line are
described relating his strategy and foreign policy which were executed to
Chinese diplomatic policy. Currently various approach is presented to
study international politics and related policies to foreign affair. In fact,
it is the most difficult to describe and explain the complicated and
unexpectable political phenomenon between nations and
diplomatic policies of a nation in the scientific and systematic
method. Each approach of international politics has its own
value and mutual assistance. The collection and analysis of data,
the corroboration of fact and phenomenon, the attempt of
generalizing them come to be useful to the analysis and study
of political phenomenon when they are jointly applied, rather
than they keep the exclusive area of their own. Thus, it is
supposed to be reasonable that micro linkage analysis approach
and macro systems analysis approach are jointly applied in this
study. The former is to study the diplomatic policies related to
domestic political factors; the national historical experience, the
unique political culture, the political ideology to control the
nation, the geological factors and the leaders' individual
characteristics. In the macro systems analysis approach, it
considers a nation as an individual which take an action
through the rational way of thinking and analyzes the action,
reaction and interaction between nations by focusing on the
situation and range of their change. It includes the power
distribution between nations, the following reactive activities, the
reaction of other nations against the stimulus of a certain actor,
the intentional use of power to maintain or break the current
situation, etc. Therefore, the world and situation view related to
domestic factors can be explained by using micro linkage
analysis approach. On the other hands, the macro systems
analysis approach includes the general steps of national security,
power competition for national benefit, the practical diplomatic
type to accomplish the national purpose, etc. Chinese
communists emphasized their past experience, communist
ideology and resistant nationalism in searching the
internal-external policies for requiring new construction of
China. They obtained the outline of diplomatic policies for China
as a sovereign state in future from these Chinese environment.
According to this, the major leaders including Mao Zedong
established the long-term and permanent objective of diplomatic
policies in order to avoid repeating the previous negative trace.
Most of all, Chinese people gave the most significance on
national security and applied various type of strategies and
tactics to keep the independent security. Seriously rejecting any
trust in foreign powerful countries, they shared the concept of
"common enemy" and prepared every and any steps for national
security, for example developing atomic weapons themselves.
They established that it was very reasonable to independently
pursue their own benefit and share, experiencing the Cold war
era and detente system. In other words, China expressed their
will to acquire the national benefit for themselves as one of the
potential powerful nation, without any interruption of foreign
nations. It was very important to accomplish the unification as
one of the diplomatic policies in view of Chinese historical
experience. Even their strong attachment to take back the lost
land caused the tension of U. S. A. Likewise, it is very
understanding that the national independence was the main
interest of the leaders. The alliance between China and the
Soviet Union affected the different opinion of Chinese leaders in
destroying their independence. As the showdown between China
and the Soviet Union grew serious, the exclusive security and
independence was appealed as one of the important diplomatic
policies. Mao Zedong played the most important role in
establishing the communist regime, combining the nationalism
and communism in China and leading the Chinese revolution. He
could suggest the unique model of the Chinese revolution
because he adapted and understood the traditional world view
well. "On Contradiction" was his means to rationalize the
conflict against the imperialism and its advocates. He
established his world and situation view by utilizing the
contradiction between U. S. A. and the Soviet Union. He used
the pro-soviet position for the conflict against the imperialism
with U. S. A., while the "three Worlds theory" to opposite those
powerful nations. Basically he perceived the international politics
as a war field, having no trust in those powerful nations. His
view of the international society started from the contradiction
between those nations. He found the way to break the
contradictive phenomenon in the international class conflict,
namely the conflict against the imperialism. To win the conflict,
he developed and even exported the revolutionary logic,
preferring the view of three-divided world instead of the two
cap theory. In the 1950s, he suggested the "main enemy" theory
to destroy the biggest contradictive enemy, American
imperialism, making the alliance with the Soviet Union. But, in
1960s, there were the definite limitation to front them with
violence, for China had to opposite and conflict against both of
U. S. A. and the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong had no chance to
re-consider another strategy, which keeps the contradiction
between the powerful nations, expressing the opposite of the
Soviet Union and trying to improve the relation to U. S. A. It
means the formal declaration of the "anti-hegemony". He
recognized the existing communist alliance as the obstacle to
maintain the relation to the Soviet Union and accepted the
diversionary power of U. S. A. for the equal power in the
world. According to his situation view, China would be a
balance-keeper by using the politics of power between U. S. A.
And the Soviet Union. It also suggested the reason of his
argument, the necessity of the international unified line.
Neutralizing the enlargement and pressure of the Soviet Union
through his power-equilibrium theory, he needed another
acquisition of supporting power because he still doubted the
imperial desire of U. S. A. His needs was embodied as the
"Third World" theory, the sophisticated "intermediate zone"
theory in 1960s. Mao's "the Third World" theory was a chain to
allow the combination with the third world since the Bandung
Conference in 1950s. He sought for the support and alliance in
the third world in order to confront other powerful nations. He
was willing to export the revolutionary theory and to be the
optimum patron for their national independence conflict. The
"peaceful co-existence" can be one aspect of the international
united front (tactics) in a broad way. Mao insisted that the
third world should combine internationally to respond the
powerful nations, resulting in securing their support. The series
of the political, diplomatic support and the economic, military aid
from China to the third world was based on Mao's policies and
strategies. Once again, he was compelled to attempt another
diplomatic policy, so that he would overcome his isolated
position in China and arrange the radical foreign relations. For
the purpose, he tried to re-manage the existing relations with
U. S. A. and the Soviet Union, lasting the support of the third
world. First, he started to improve the relations with U. S. A.
Even though some military leaders and the advocated of the
Gang of Four objected him. The attempt was necessary because
the relations with the Soviet Union became bad after the
boundary conflict between China and the Soviet Union. The
other reason was Mao needed another international alliance to
check the Soviet Union with power. He also wanted to use the
showdown and contradiction of U. S. A. and the Soviet Union
in view of the international power equilibrium. As one of those
reason, he came to support the polity of international gradual
improvement, which most of the third world preferred, without
being shaken by domestic leftists and radicals. It means he
gave up the world revolution strategy including village and city
in the world based on Chinese radicalism, which was very
popular in 1960s. Instead of it, he accepted new international
order of economy as long as he got the support of the third
world. Finally, he prepared the open-door policy by extending
the relationship with western nations, throwing away the
unproductive polity for economic independence during the age of
the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. At that time, there's
the radical party which worried about the opening to the
foreigners and the dependence on their economy in China. But
Mao never hesitated to take necessary measures for the
open-door policy. The change of Mao's diplomatic policies
resulted from the adjustment of relations with other powerful
nations. The followings are the features of Mao's diplomatic
policies related to the above subject. Mao leaded the diplomatic
policies of China depending on his individual charisma and the
situation view. He suggested the constant and unique view of
understanding the nature of international politics and society. He
had the independent perception and response to Chinese strategy
and beneficial steps against foreign powerful nations. He paid
attention to the limitation of U. S. A. through the Vietnam War,
recognizing he cannot resist the leading of a certain nation by
himself. According to it, he had the optimistic thought of
improving the relations with U. S. A. to check the "main
enemy", the Soviet Union. Mao continued to keep the diplomatic
principle with the constant confidence in negotiating with other
powerful nations. Actually, China was one of a few nations
which criticized and objected U. S. A. or the Soviet Union in
public. It was totally based on Mao's diplomatic potential. He
expressed the diplomatic consistency strictly, with the
confidence to keep the independence of China. It can be
evaluated that China suggested some principle such as the "5
principles for peaceful co-existence" and the "anti-hegemony" to
keep various foreign relations with powerful or weak nations,
reflecting the consistency of China and Mao Zedong's diplomatic
front.