International Department of the Chinese Communist Party
Abbreviation | Zhonglianbu ( |
---|---|
Formation | 1951 |
Type | Department directly reporting to the Central Committee Ministerial level agency |
Headquarters | 4 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing |
Leader | Liu Jianchao |
Deputy ministers | Chen Zhou, Li Mingxiang, Sun Haiyan, Lu Kang |
Parent organization | Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
Subsidiaries | Chinese Association for International Understanding China Center for Contemporary World Studies China Foundation for Peace and Development |
Affiliations | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China |
Website | www |
Formerly called | International Liaison Department |
China portal |
The International Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (ID; Chinese:
History[edit]
The department was established in 1951, and was tasked with overseeing relations with foreign communist parties, especially the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc.[1] The ILD's mandate became more important following the Sino-Soviet split, as the party began more aggressively seeking supporters for its position among communist parties operating overseas.[2] Afterwards it maintained ties between the CCP and the Maoist parties around the world, often attempting to foment revolution abroad by funneling money and resources to left-wing and rebel groups.[3][4][5]
In the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping, the ILD expanded its mission to include cultivating relations with non-communist parties, and shed its overtly revolutionary objectives.[6] In 1981, the ILD established the Chinese Association for International Understanding.[7][8] The ILD also operates the China Foundation for Peace and Development.[9] In this era, the department sought to forge ties with "any foreign political party that was willing to meet with it."[4]
With the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, the ILD's expanded mission of engaging with parties across the political spectrum became more important.[2] Since the early 2000s, the ILD has increased its global outreach.[10] According to scholar Anne-Marie Brady, the ILD is "tasked with gathering intelligence on foreign politicians and political parties, and developing asset relations with them."[11]
In 2010, the ILD established the China Center for Contemporary World Studies (CCCWS), a think tank serving on the secretariat of the Silk Road Think Tank Association, which aims to "enhance positive feelings" toward the Belt and Road Initiative.[12]
The ILD has grown in importance under the Xi Jinping Administration as an instrument of the foreign policy of China.[13] To advance Chinese-African party-to-party relations, the ILD and Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party finance the Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania.[14][15]: 100–101 The school opened in February 2022 with US$40 million in funding and is a physical venue for political and diplomatic exchanges between the CCP and African ruling parties, particularly from Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.[16][17][15]: 101–102
Functions[edit]
The department is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s primary body tasked with conducting diplomacy through party-to-party channels.[15]: 88 It plays a critical role in China's relations with other socialist one-party states, including North Korea and Vietnam.[18][19] The ILD gathers intelligence on and influences foreign political parties, organizations, think tanks, and academics as well being tasked with finding ways to divide potential critics.[20][21][22][10][11] As of 2019[update], it maintains relations with more than 600 political parties and organizations from over 160 countries.[15]: 89
Organization[edit]
The department has 14 offices, 8 of which are regional bureaus.[15]: 89
Directors of the ILD:
- Wang Jiaxiang (1951 – March 1966)
- Liu Ningyi (acting; June 1966 – April 1968)
- Geng Biao (January 1971 – January 1979)
- Ji Pengfei (January 1979 – April 1982)
- Qiao Shi (April 1982 – July 1983)
- Qian Liren (July 1983 – December 1985)
- Zhu Liang (December 1985 – March 1993)
- Li Shuzheng (March 1993 – August 1997)
- Dai Bingguo (August 1997 – March 2003)
- Wang Jiarui (March 2003 – November 2015)
- Song Tao (November 2015 – June 2022)
- Liu Jianchao (June 2022 – present)
See also[edit]
- Chinese Association for International Understanding
- International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
References[edit]
- ^ Jüris, Frank (2020-09-25). "Estonian parties in the CCP's grip: The International Liaison Department's influence activities". Sinopsis. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ a b Sutter, Robert (2011). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Foreign Policy. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Rowman and Littlefield. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8108-6860-1. OCLC 971172812. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ Lovell, Julia (2019-09-03). Maoism: A Global History. Doubleday. pp. 13. ISBN 978-0-525-65605-0.
The two most important organisations handling the export of Chinese revolutionary theory and practice were the International Liaison Department and military intelligence.
- ^ a b Brady, Anne-Marie (2003). Making the foreign serve China: managing foreigners in the People's Republic. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. doi:10.25911/5d5fccdac8aba. hdl:1885/147629. ISBN 0742518612. OCLC 52595251.
- ^ Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency (December 1971). "Intelligence Report: The International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ^ Shambaugh, David (March 2007). "China's "Quiet Diplomacy": The International Department of the Chinese Communist Party". China: An International Journal. 05 (1): 26–54. doi:10.1142/S0219747207000039. ISSN 0219-7472.
- ^ Sutter, Robert G. (2011-05-05). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Foreign Policy. Scarecrow Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-8108-7084-0. OCLC 780605591. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
- ^ Stokes, Mark; Hsiao, Russell (October 14, 2013). "The People's Liberation Army General Political Department: Political Warfare with Chinese Characteristics" (PDF). Project 2049 Institute. pp. 38, 78. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ Bandurski, David (2023-04-09). "Mixing Media and Statecraft in Latin America". China Media Project. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ^ a b Hackenesch, Christine; Bader, Julia (2020-06-09). "The Struggle for Minds and Influence: The Chinese Communist Party's Global Outreach". International Studies Quarterly. 64 (3): 723–733. doi:10.1093/isq/sqaa028. hdl:11245.1/7324dee8-d4d7-4163-86c5-f0e467a5b65a. ISSN 0020-8833.
- ^ a b Hartcher, Peter (2020-07-13). "Rundown of China's spy agencies will make uncomfortable reading for some". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ Bigey, René (2023-05-11). "France's "influence diplomacy" under CCP influence" (PDF). Sinopsis. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (January 30, 2024). "The rise of China's shadow diplomacy". Axios. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (August 20, 2023). "In Tanzania, Beijing is running a training school for authoritarianism". Axios. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Shinn, David H.; Eisenman, Joshua (2023). China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-21001-0.
- ^ Nyabiage, Jevans (2022-02-26). "China opens party school in Africa to teach its model to continent's officials". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ Chan, Raphael (August 29, 2022). "Political Training Under the Belt and Road Initiative: A Look at the Chinese Communist Party's First Party School in Africa". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ Cai, Jane (2023-10-20). "Chinese Communist Party's diplomatic arm in 'candid and constructive' meeting with US think tank Asia Society". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ Shi, Jiangtao (1 January 2024). "Communist Party diplomat Liu Jianchao steps up role in China's foreign policy drive". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Lulu, Jichang (2019-11-26). "Repurposing democracy: The European Parliament China Friendship Cluster". Sinopsis. pp. 27–29. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ^ Thomas, Neil (January 22, 2020). "Proselytizing Power: The Party Wants the World to Learn from Its Experiences". Macro Polo. Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ Fitzgerald, John (2019). Mind your tongue: Language, public diplomacy and community cohesion in contemporary Australia—China relations (Report). Australian Strategic Policy Institute. JSTOR resrep23070.