FOREIGN OFFICE FILES FOR CHINA, 1949-1976
(Public Record Office Class FO 371)

Part 1: Complete Files for 1949 (PRO Class FO 371/75731-75957)

This microfilm project addresses a crucial period in Chinese history, from the foundation of the People’s Republic, in 1949, to the death of Zhou Enlai and Mao, the arrest of the Gang of Four and the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.

Drawn entirely from FO 371 and FCO files on China for the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, key topics addressed include:

- The major reforms of the 1950s
- The Chinese People’s Republic
- Nationalization of commerce and industry
- Taiwan
- The Korean War
- The Great Leap Forward of 1958
- The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s
- Mao Tse-tung and Economic Recovery
- International recognition and foreign policy
- Trade and commerce with Japan and USA
- Moves toward admission to the United Nations
- Relations between China and Hong Kong
- Soviet-China relations
- Weekly and monthly summaries of events from China

The material within these files not only reveals Britain’s attitude toward China, but also the wider repercussions of her interest there. Of particular interest is the United States’ reaction to Britain’s relationship with China and her new Communist rulers.

The following extract shows how the UK’s policies toward the new regime in Peking could have unforeseen consequences, as well as giving a good sense of the tensions that underpinned the ‘special relationship’:

"Dear Department,
We enclose a memorandum dated 28th November by His Majesty’s Consul-General at New York, reporting certain views which were expressed to him by a prominent Republican about the United Kingdom’s intention to recognise the Chinese communist government. The gist is that the United Kingdom’s evident desire to recognise [Mainland China] is combining with other existing factors to produce a hostile Republican attitude to the United Kingdom, which may adversely affect British prospects for completion of the Marshall programme."

In another letter (to Schuman, the French Foreign Minister) Britain’s sensitivity to international reactions to her policies, and the entangled nature of the Far Eastern situation are revealed:

"We cannot indefinitely go on ignoring the effective government of a vast territory like China. I shall be happy if the French government take a similar decision, but if you cannot I shall understand the special difficulties of your position arising out of the Indo-China situation.... I earnestly trust that our recognition of China will not add to your difficulties in Indo-China - my considered view is that worse dangers would flow from non-recognition than from recognition of China - and I hope that neither your own authorities on the spot, nor Bao Dai and his administration, will misinterpret our action...."

Part 1 concentrates on the complete files for 1949.

President Chiang's New Year Message for 1949 (see FO 371/75736) opens:

"We are convinced that all patriotic citizens will not tolerate the Communist method of "liquidation" and "struggle" and that they are not willing to abandon their liberty... "

It goes on to argue:

"...Being a strong believer in the three Peoples Principles and abiding by Dr Sun's bequeathed teachings, I did not have any intention of fighting the Communists at the end of the war. Immediately after V-J Day, the Government declared its principles for peace and reconstruction. Later it went one step further by seeking to solve the Communist question by means of political consultation. In the one-and-a-half years that elapsed, the Communists disregarded every agreement and obstructed every peace effort that was made. As a result these agreements and the programmes which were agreed upon were not implemented. In the end the Communists started an all-out rebellion, thereby endangering the very existence of the nation. Unwillingly the Government was forced to order a general mobilization and proceed with the anti-communist campaign..."

A total of 45 files, entitled "Events leading to the formation of a communist government of the Peoples Republic of China", record the progress of the Revolution and the eventual triumph of Mao Tse Tung and the Communist Revolutionaries.

A large grouping of 21 files (FO 371/75810 through to FO 371/75830) covers Recognition of the Communist Government of China, in particular: discussions between Britain and other governments on the question of recognition. Other files in Part 1 give a background report on events in China in 1948; brief biographies of leading communist personalities in China; details on relations between China and Hong Kong; relations between Hong Kong and Macao; weekly and monthly summaries of events in China in 1949; the move of the Chinese Government from Nanking; Soviet-China relations; with numerous files on the Economic situation in China and British Commercial interests in China.

There are 6 files on Formosa/Taiwan.

The famous incident involving HMS Amethyst in the Yangtze River, 20 April 1949, is well covered in a total of 11 files. Further files document the Chinese National Government blockade of ports under communist control and the closure of Chinese territorial waters up to 12 miles; British shipping in the region; the position of British subjects in China; evacuations from Shanghai; compensation for the bombing of British ships by Chinese Nationalist air forces; British Coal Mining interests in China; the move of Chinese National Airways Corporation to Kai Tek airport in Hong Kong; Sovereignty issues regarding Kowloon and the New Territories; as well as details of the likely impact of events on the situation in Indo-China, Burma and Malaysia.

The new regime in China, called the People’s Republic of China, was officially proclaimed on 1 October 1949. The Organic Law of 1949 became the basic law of the land and was not replaced until the 1954 Constitution was adopted.

The wider availability of all these files, made possible by this microfilm edition, opens up many new possibilities for research on Asia Studies, particularly focused on China.

"China specialists can contribute to wider theoretical debates by suggesting new concepts and tools for understanding the role of national identity and nationalist imperatives in the foreign relations of post-imperial states...."
Dr Chris Hughes, Lecturer in Modern Chinese History, Middlesex University
writing in Chapter 15 of The Contemporary History Handbook (Manchester University Press, 1996)