China’s History

China's diplomacy over the past 60 years can be divided into two periods with 1978 as the watershed. In the first 30 years (1949 1978), the focus of China's diplomatic tasks was to oppose the threat from big powers, consolidate national independence, and safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, since its opening up and reform in 1978, China has re-oriented its diplomacy to create an external environment conducive to its domestic economic development in the midst of the changing international situation.