Shen Zhihua on Avoiding a New Cold War
"China should stick to its foreign policy of the early days of reform and opening up, not aligning with others or drawing lines based on ideology."
While I am on holiday, the South China Morning Post has been kind enough to allow me to share Yuanyue Dang’s interview with one of China’s most remarkable historians, Shen Zhihua (沈志华). Shen is the director of East China Normal University’s Centre for Cold War International History Studies and a leading Chinese expert on Cold War history. For those who may not be familiar with his extraordinary background, I recommend reading Jane Perlez’s 2018 profile of him in the New York Times.
Key Points
Vladimir Putin is attempting to rebuild the Russian Empire. This poses a security threat to China.
China should steer clear of ideological divisions and return to the non-alignment policy practised under Deng Xiaoping.
Beijing should prevent the return of the Cold War’s northern and southern triangles, with China, Russia and North Korea on one side, and the US, Japan and South Korea on the other.
Recent visits by the Chairman of the NPC’s Standing Committee, Zhao Leji (赵乐际), to Pyongyang and Moscow s…