FOREIGN OFFICE FILES FOR CHINA, 1949-1976

(Public Record Office Classes FO 371 and FCO 21)

Part 3: Complete Files for 1951 (PRO Class FO 371/92188-92395)

Publisher's Note

Foreign Office Files for China, offers complete coverage of PRO Class FO 371 on China for the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and documents the most significant events in the history of modern day China. Part 1 covers 1949, a crucial year which saw the fall of the Nationalist government and the triumph of the Communist forces, while Part 2 continues with files devoted to the question of world-wide recognition of the People's Democratic Republic of China. In Part 3 of this microfilm project, we offer the complete run of FO 371 files for China for 1951.

During the first six months of 1951, the Chinese economy was booming. Spurred on by their early so-called 'success' in the Korean war and the unceasing propaganda campaigns, the Central People's Government (CPG) had succeeded in stirring up a wave of patriotic feeling. Any surviving traces of opposition were eliminated and the 'peaceful liberation' of Tibet had moved from the sphere of external to that of internal politics.

By June, the Chinese army were in need of respite in the Korean War and ceasefire negotiations were opened in July. The influence of the CPG seemed to be stronger than ever, but as the year closed China's economy was showing signs of strain brought about by her efforts in the Korean war.

The extent of power held by the Chinese Government can be found in files FO 371/92192-92206. Reports and comments offer a wealth of information on a variety of subjects such as tax, arrest and executions of subversive agents and the registration of foreign organisations in China. From the Chancery in Peking, British aid G. G. Buzzard reported to the Far Eastern Department in London:

"The only plans which the communists present regularly and in some detail both to the party and to the general public are their economic plans - these are regularly presented and discussed at the beginning of each planning period and it seems not unlikely that the embryonic plans which are now revealed to and discussed at selected meetings of party members or experts. The points he (Chou En Lai) makes are fairly obvious and the Report may be fabrication based upon intelligent speculation. The Report does not in any case tell us anything of vital interest although if it were true, it would suggest that China is rather more occupied with the task of land reform and stability of prices than appears to be the case at the present moment; it would also suggest that China is rather less occupied with plans for the promotion of communist unrest and subversion throughout the Far East than we have reason to believe is the case." (2nd March 1951, FO 371/92194)

The extract below, taken from a report on the 30th Anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party, duly reflects China's priorities in 1951:

"The occasion was fully exploited by the authorities to collect and re-emphasise their propaganda campaign, at present built up of three main strands, to which all other subjects are attached, namely: Resist America and Aid Korea (the main external line); carry through the Land Reform (the main internal line); and suppress Counter-Revolutionaries, which seems to arise from the first two and to rank with but after them in the official mind." (FO 371/92200)

Several documents chart the events and situation in Formosa. Files FO 371/92208-92210 report talks in London with Han Lih-Wu, Chiang Kai-shek's political adviser, reflecting the British Government's reaction to the establishment of the Kuomintang government in Taiwan. FO 371/92225 and 92226 chart various views on the future of Formosa including America's unchanged policy towards the Chinese Nationalists and anti-British demonstrations at the British consulate at Tamsui.

"The Lord Chancellor had been toying with the idea of putting to the US Secretary of State the suggestion that we should persuade the US Government to accord de facto recognition to the Central People's Government of China and that we in turn should publicly accord de facto recognition to the Nationalists in Formosa." (FO 371/92226)

Files FO 371/92230-92232 offer documents that give some weight to general Western post-war opinion of the close connection between Chinese politics and propaganda. On the 11th May, a telegram was sent from Peking to the Foreign Office in London reporting on the Chinese propaganda effort:

"By the end of April all resources of the propaganda machine had been directed to the preparation of May Day. Slogans and pictures were plastered everywhere on walls, arches, shops. the principal slogans were 'oppose American aid to Korea', 'oppose the rearmament of Japan', 'sign in favour of a five power peace pact', but above all the predominant theme was opposition to America. in addition to popular attacks on Japanese armament there have been a series of more serious articles analysing American draft of Japanese treaty. The unanimous conclusion is that the draft is absurd, preposterous and illegal." (FO 371/92231)

With the Korean War and the invasion of Tibet, China had made her presence felt on the world political stage. Reflecting this, Part 3 also offers files on global diplomatic activity and commercial relations in 1951. International deliberations on the UN's imposition of sanctions on China are discussed in FO 371/92233-92240 while China's political and trade relations with the UK are documented throughout the project. Although the UK formerly recognised China at the beginning of 1950, the files show that throughout 1951 diplomatic relations between the two countries remained fairly remote. Chou En Lai's speech to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the end of October 1951, showed that China had no intention of easing relations and matters appeared to worsen when the British Government backed the United Nations resolution which declared China an aggressor. China's takeover and refusal to admit replacements at several British consular establishments, most notably at Tientsin (FO 371/92323-92324 and 92356), is documented as well as the expulsion of the Consul-General at Tihwa (Urumchi) for alleged criminal acts (FO 371/92378-92381). In London, discussions with the Chinese Government about the upkeep of the former Chinese Embassy, eventually assumed by the Bank of China, can be found in FO 371/92320-92322.

Monthly economic reports for China are made available in FO 371/92257; British and foreign commercial interests are covered in FO 371/92259-92267 and economic sanctions against China are reported in FO 371/92272-92287. The latter covers the US embargo on exports to China and control of exports from Hong Kong to Formosa.

China's relations with the United States and the Soviet Union can also be researched, including: the alleged bombing and strafing of the Chinese border by US aircraft (FO 371/92228); a report documenting a Soviet approach to America on the development of China (FO 371/92241); Sino-Soviet trade agreements (FO 371/92293) and the Chinese take-over of American companies in FO 371/92294.

FO 371/92300 through to FO 371/923305 offers a wealth of documents relating to military matters in China. The Chinese Nationalist military strength in Formosa, Soviet assistance to the Chinese Army, the Chinese Communist Army and Airforce and the prohibition of night navigation near Tsingtao are all covered.

Part 3 also offers a British perspective of China's internal policies. The CPG's major objective of land reform can be found in FO 371/92306 and FO 371/92325. Mining (FO 371/92328), oil deposits in North West China (FO 371/92327), tobacco and cotton (FO 371/92307 and 92308 respectively) all give an insight into China's major export industries.

The wider availability of all these files, made possible by this microfilm edition, opens up many new possibilities for research and sheds light upon events in China in 1951. The files in Part 3 offer a fascinating account of Mao Zedong's Communist Government and show the resilience of China as an emerging global superpower, posing questions such as: To what lengths did the Chinese really did desire an armistice in the Korea war? How successful were the agrarian reforms? What evidence exists of the supply of Soviet war materials to China?

By providing full coverage of all 1951 Foreign Office Files for China, academics will be able to research topics such as:

• The Korean War
• Events in Formosa
• Chinese Communist threat to Hong Kong
• Chinese anti-Western propaganda
• United Nations imposition of political and economic sanctions
• International trade relations
• The Chinese economy
• Chinese military machinations
• Movements of foreign nationals and organisations

These British files offer researchers an interesting insight into differences between British and American policy on China in this period. These materials both complement and add significantly to US State Department documents on China.

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