Following the massacres of Tian'anmen Square in 1989, Communist China made immense efforts to build itself, on the international scene, the image of a reasonable and non-belligerent nation, which then stood in sharp contrast with American and Russian positions. and sometimes European. This positioning had even seduced a certain part of the Western political class, which was full of praise for the country, and the fact that in its history, China had never attacked a neighbor (Indians et Vietnamese will naturally have a very different opinion on the question).
The evolution of Chinese positions on the international scene
Peaceful conciliation was then the very imprint of China in its relations with its neighbors, as with the West. Thus, rather than entering into a diplomatic and commercial confrontation with Japan over the Senkaku Islands, Beijing proposed to Tokyo to jointly exploit the mineral resources of the area. It was during this period from 1995 to 2012 that Beijing succeeded, thanks to its galloping economy, in convincing a number of companies and Western states to assist the technological conversion of the country, including in the military field. . And even when the Chinese authorities' intentions were clearly to cheat their partners, European and Russian governments alike preferred not to upset the sleeping dragon, as China became an essential engine for their economy.
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