The Problem of China in the British Foreign Office Mind

Understanding a Rising Superpower, 1922-1985

Oliver Yule-Smith

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2025
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350556041
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

This book is a work of British diplomatic history that illuminates how Britain's China officials grappled with China's changing position in international affairs during the 20th century. Arguing that the idea of a 'rising China' was recognised by these officials as early as the 1920s, and that they actively took steps to plan for this eventuality, Yule-Smith shows how they were guided by a strategic, long-term view of what Britain should try to achieve in its relations with China. This dilemma of how to reconcile a country that then appeared weak and disordered, with the view that it would once again return to great power, became understood in Foreign Office circles as the 'problem of China'.

This book will challenge the idea that the concept of a 'rising China' did not emerge until the 1980s or later, instead asserting that a small cadre of experts were exploring what China's return to power would mean for both the UK and the wider international order as early as the 1920s. The book brings these British China officials out of the shadows of history to ascertain how they understood China; and how they tried to define Britain's diplomatic efforts over the course of the twentieth century. Finally, it will draw lessons from these diplomatic histories and offer some policy recommendations for modern day Anglo-Chinese relations.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations and Note on Romanization
• Introduction
• 1 The forging of a China mind
• 2 Approaching a modern China, 1922–31
• 3 Managing a war-torn China, 1931–41
• 4 Reconciling a divided China, 1941–50
• 5 Understanding an unknown, red China, 1950–60
• 6 Worrying about an isolated China, 1960–67
• 7 Encouraging an opening China, 1967–76
• 8 Maintaining an opening China after Mao, 1976–85
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright