Chi-kwan Mark – Författare

After 1949, the British Empire in Hong Kong was more vulnerable than the lack of Chinese demand for return and the success of Hong Kong's economic transformations might have suggested. Its vulnerability stemmed as much from Britain's imperial decline and America's Cold War requirements as from a Chinese threat. It culminated in the little known '1957 Question', a year when the British position in Hong Kong appeared more uncertain than any time since 1949.This is the first scholarly study that places Hong Kong at the heart of the Anglo-American relationship in the wider context of the Cold War in Asia. Unlike existing works, which tend to treat British and US policies in isolation, this book explores their dynamic interactions - how the two allies perceived, responded to, and attempted to influence each other's policies and actions. It also provides a major reinterpretation of Hong Kong's involvement in the containment of China. Dr Mark argues that, concerned about possible Chinese retaliation, the British insisted and the Americans accepted that Hong Kong's role should be as discreet and non-confrontational in nature as possible. Above all, top decision-makers in Washington evaluated Hong Kong's significance not in its own right, but in the context of the Anglo-American relationship: Hong Kong was seen primarily as a bargaining chip to obtain British support for US policy elsewhere in Asia.By using a variety of British and US archival material as well as Chinese sources, Dr Mark examines how the British and US government discussed, debated, and disagreed over Hong Kong's role in the Cold War, and reveals the dynamics of the Anglo-American alliance and the dilemmas of small allies in a global conflict.

Now in its second edition, China and the World since 1945 offers an accessible introduction to China’s foreign policy and diplomatic history across a broad chronology.After the ‘century of humiliation’, China was in constant search of a new identity on the world stage, which significantly changed the way the nation defined itself and its role in the world. The book traces developments in China’s relations with the two superpowers, Asian neighbours, Third World countries, and European powers, examining China’s role in modern globalization and the international community. It also considers the influence of domestic politics and ideology on China’s international relations. Fully revised and updated with the latest scholarship, the second edition includes a new chapter on China’s foreign relations under Xi Jinping’s administration, including the reassertion of China as a Communist state, identification with the Global South, and the ‘New Cold War’ with the United States as both powers grapple for global influence.By examining the rise of China from a long-term historical perspective, this concise yet comprehensive study will be essential to scholars and students of Chinese history and contemporary international relations.

Now in its second edition, China and the World since 1945 offers an accessible introduction to China’s foreign policy and diplomatic history across a broad chronology.After the ‘century of humiliation’, China was in constant search of a new identity on the world stage, which significantly changed the way the nation defined itself and its role in the world. The book traces developments in China’s relations with the two superpowers, Asian neighbours, Third World countries, and European powers, examining China’s role in modern globalization and the international community. It also considers the influence of domestic politics and ideology on China’s international relations. Fully revised and updated with the latest scholarship, the second edition includes a new chapter on China’s foreign relations under Xi Jinping’s administration, including the reassertion of China as a Communist state, identification with the Global South, and the ‘New Cold War’ with the United States as both powers grapple for global influence.By examining the rise of China from a long-term historical perspective, this concise yet comprehensive study will be essential to scholars and students of Chinese history and contemporary international relations.

In 1950 the British government accorded diplomatic recognition to the newly founded People’s Republic of China. But it took 22 years for Britain to establish full diplomatic relations with China. How far was Britain’s China policy a failure until 1972? This book argues that Britain and China were involved in the ‘everyday Cold War’, or a continuous process of contestation and cooperation that allowed them to ‘normalize’ their confrontation in the absence of full diplomatic relations. From Vietnam and Taiwan to the mainland and Hong Kong, China’s ‘everyday Cold War’ against Britain was marked by diplomatic ritual, propaganda rhetoric and symbolic gestures. Rather than pursuing a failed policy of ‘appeasement’, British decision-makers and diplomats regarded engagement or negotiation with China as the best way of fighting the ‘everyday Cold War’.Based on extensive British and Chinese archival sources, this book examines not only the high politics of Anglo-Chinese relations, but also how the British diplomats experienced the Cold War at the local level.

In 1950 the British government accorded diplomatic recognition to the newly founded People’s Republic of China. But it took 22 years for Britain to establish full diplomatic relations with China. How far was Britain’s China policy a failure until 1972? This book argues that Britain and China were involved in the ‘everyday Cold War’, or a continuous process of contestation and cooperation that allowed them to ‘normalize’ their confrontation in the absence of full diplomatic relations. From Vietnam and Taiwan to the mainland and Hong Kong, China’s ‘everyday Cold War’ against Britain was marked by diplomatic ritual, propaganda rhetoric and symbolic gestures. Rather than pursuing a failed policy of ‘appeasement’, British decision-makers and diplomats regarded engagement or negotiation with China as the best way of fighting the ‘everyday Cold War’.Based on extensive British and Chinese archival sources, this book examines not only the high politics of Anglo-Chinese relations, but also how the British diplomats experienced the Cold War at the local level.

In the 1980s, Britain actively engaged with China in order to promote globalisation and manage Hong Kong’s decolonisation. Influenced by neoliberalism, Margaret Thatcher saw Britain as a global trading nation, which was well placed to serve China’s reform. During the negotiations over Hong Kong’s future, British diplomats aimed to educate the Chinese in free-market capitalism. Nevertheless, Deng Xiaoping held an alternative vision of globalisation, one that privileged sovereignty and socialism over market liberalism and democracy. By drawing extensively upon the declassified British archives along with Chinese sources, this book explores how Britain and China negotiated for Hong Kong’s future, and how Anglo-Chinese relations flourished after 1984 but suffered a setback as a result of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. This original study argues that Thatcher was a pragmatic neoliberal, and the British diplomacy of ‘educating’ China yielded mixed results.