Background to the PRC's foreign policy

The foreign policy of the PRC is a pivotal and highly relevant subject matter in contemporary international relations. The features of Chinese foreign policy have originated, evolved and have been transformed since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The consideration and analysis of these features in a historical manner are important for understanding the PRC’s foreign policy in the present and future. The novelty of the study is to cover the characteristics of China’s foreign policy and highlight the key concepts at every stage of its history. The author identifies five historical periods of the PRC’s foreign policy and notes the main features, geopolitical concepts and major events of foreign policy at each period. It is concluded that Chinese foreign policy concepts have deepened and enriched during its powerful economic and political development.