Suchergebnisse

The years 1966 and 1967 are crucial for British Crown's Colony of Hong Kong and for United Kingdom's economic relation with the People's Republic of China. Few studies on the subject addressed this reality only partially, whereas a thorough vision remains to be achieved. The 1967 left-wing riots marked a point of no return in UK's perception of the Hong Kong issue from a political standpoint as the events showed the British the exact measurement of their weakness in the area. But while agreeing that UK's decolonization strategy might have an earlier start, we have to point out that the years 1966 and 1967 need to be studied as crucial dates, which marks the acquisition of a new consciousness by the Hong Kong financial and industrial milieus: from then on, the economic future of the colony will look towards the Mainland and not anymore towards the United Kingdom, thus acknowledging the strong, though not problem-free, links built over the years by the Hong Kong capitalists with the People's Republic of China establishment.

AbstractThis article aims to deepen scholarly understanding of the special political and economic connection between Britain and Socialist China during the 1950s and the 1960s. After 1949, the British government had substantive reasons to preserve a link with Beijing, despite the unfolding of the Cold War. First, British assets in China were numerous. Second, the Crown colony of Hong Kong was an indispensable strategic enclave, although militarily indefensible. Third, the Foreign Office considered that Asia should represent an exception to unquestioned British loyalty to the Atlantic alliance, since the United Kingdom needed to prove that it was able to represent and preserve Commonwealth interests in the area. The article will point out that the United Kingdom maintained a privileged role as the main trading partner of the People's Republic of China (PRC) outside the Socialist bloc, thanks to the financial and commercial role played by Hong Kong. This is proved through an analysis of the fate of British financial institutions in China, which represented a favourable exception in the bleak scenario of the PRC nationalization process, as well as of the industrial development of the British colony, which was based on importing food and labour from the mainland, while serving as a financial hub in support of the PRC economy.

China–EU affairs have acquired a new quality and depth. The growing institutionalization of cooperation between the two bears are witness to this dynamism. These developments have been subject to growing attention from academic and research institutions. However, only a few studies have been carried out with the specific aim of providing an outline of how the EU is perceived in China. This article seeks to start filling this gap by offering an outline of how the EU is perceived by China's press, political elites and civil society. The article argues that the dynamism with which China and the EU approach each other is a clear signal that both sides see each other as potential allies in a variety of contexts. The absence of hard security conflicts is an important facilitating factor of this process of convergence. However, the USA continues to play an important role in this context both as a stimulating and constraining factor. Therefore, it is appropriate to think of China and the EU as two actors experiencing a more mature relationship in a changed systemic environment.

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