"Building a New Stove”

A foreign policy put forward by Mao Zedong in the spring of 1949. Together with "cleaning up the house before entertaining the guests” and "leaning to one side", they constituted the three major diplomatic principles of the early days of the founding of New China. Zhou Enlai explained "building a new stove" by saying: "It is not to recognize the old diplomatic relations established by the KMT government with other countries, but to establish new diplomatic relations with other countries on a new basis.” The policy of "building a new stove” also went through a process of development.

On October 10, 1947, the “Manifesto of the Chinese People's Liberation Army” outlined the rudiment of the diplomatic policy of “building a new stove”. On January 19, 1949, the CPC Central Committee issued the “Instruction on Foreign Affairs”, which specified the Party's foreign policy in detail, including specific policies on foreign investment, foreign trade, customs, churches, cultural institutions, charities, and foreign affairs organizations in China.

On March 5 of the same year, at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the CPC, Mao Zedong put forward the policy of “systematically and completely destroying imperialist domination in China” and expounded the basic tasks of diplomatic work. On September 29, the “Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference” stipulated the basic contents of the independent foreign policy of New China and elevated the Party's policy of "building a new stove” to the national foreign policy. Considering all these, it is obvious that "building a new stove” had rich ideological connotations.

(1) The basic premise was not to recognize the humiliating diplomatic relations during the KMT period. As stipulated in the “Common Program”: the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China should have examined treaties and agreements concluded between the KMT Government and foreign governments and would have the right to recognize them, repeal them, amend them, or renew them according to their contents.

(2) Its basic position was to abolish imperialist privileges in China, including abolishing imperialist domination over China's economy, politics and culture.

(3) Its basic objective was to adhere to an independent foreign policy based on peace. The “Common Programme” stipulated that the principles of the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China should safeguard the independence, freedom and territorial sovereignty of the country, upheld lasting international peace and friendly cooperation among peoples, and opposed imperialist policies of aggression and war.

(4) Its basic line was to establish diplomatic relations through negotiation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

The Central People's Government was the only legitimate government representing the whole people of the People's Republic of China and it was willing to negotiate and establish diplomatic relations with any foreign government that severed relations with the KMT authorities and that takes a friendly attitude towards the People's Republic of China on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territorial sovereignty.

(5) Its basic strategy was to adhere to the unity of principle and flexibility. In the case of foreign government interests in China, “it should be dealt with separately according to the nature and situation of the problem. All problems should be solved if they are beneficial to the Chinese people and can be solved. If it is impossible to solve a problem, that problem should be solved temporarily. If a problem does not harm the Chinese people, even if it is easy to solve, it is not necessary to rush to solve it. If a problem was not studied clearly or the time for solving it is not yet ripe, we should not rush to solve it."

Zhou Enlai commented that the policy of "building a new stove" "changed China's semi-colonial status and established independent diplomatic relations in politics". This policy clearly defined the boundary between the old and the new China's diplomacy, safeguarded the independence and sovereignty of New China, created a new way of thinking for China's peaceful diplomacy, and laid the foundation for the diplomatic work of New China.