Relaciones entre China y España 1970-1982

Abstract

The beginning of relations between Spain and China could be traced back to the 16th century, when Christian missionaries found themselves among the pioneers in reaching the Far East. However, this tendency has not been maintained in later times, because of the decline of power of those two empires. Between the years 1970 and 1982, Sino-Spanish relations experienced transcendental changes. In the second third of the twentieth century, Franco's Spain maintained diplomatic relations with the Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) government, which moved to Taiwan after 1949, although the official relations with Spain continued. The significant change occurred in 1973, a year in which in a historical context both Mao's China and Franco's Spain were looking for their living space on the international scene. Paradoxically, the context of the Cold War offered them an opportunity of rapprochement, given that in the 1970s, the ideological struggle became of secondary importance; meanwhile, the confrontation with the USSR and the admission of the PRC into the UU.NN. were a favour to the rapprochement between Beijing and Madrid. This process culminated on 9 March 1973 with the establishment of diplomatic relations between two governments. Over the next ten years, the consolidation of bilateral ties has been gradual, since both countries were undergoing transcendental changes in the domestic sphere. The visit of the Spanish kings to China in 1978 was a milestone in official Sino-Spanish relations. After this event, both Spain - in the midst of the processes of Transition and democratization, and China - on the eve of the Reform and Opening Policy, both started a path towards the modernization of the country and a shift towards a pragmatic style in their foreign policies. This period coincided with the fact that the unofficial links between China and Spain began to open, and even if it was staggered in the beginning, there would be a considerable growth of this tendency at a later time. We can contemplate a series of similarities in the Chinese history and Spanish history. Even so, we still have a gap to fill in the background of their bilateral relations. It is hoped that the knowledge of this area will encourage both countries to give each other the due importance, as it has not been possible to carry it out in depth due to the various circumstances.