Diplomatic relations were established with eleven countries ，all of them withinthe Soviet camp ，within three months of the founding of New China.The numberhad reached seventeen after eight months.However ，by 1955when the Asian-AfricanConference was convened ，only a further five had been added ，increasing thenumber to twenty two.These included five northern and central European countriesand five Asian nations.Under such circumstances，it would have been very difficultfor China to score greater diplomatic victories if it had not made adjustments toits foreign policies.One of the preconditions for making adjustments in this areawas to step beyond the limits of the two-camp theory and deepen knowledge of therelations between states.
The Chinese Communist leadership adopted very revolutionary criteria when theyclassified the states in the world.In their eyes ，all the states outside theSoviet camp were either imperialist or under the control of imperialist or reactionaryforces.According to the views expressed by Mao Zedong in his work `"On the People‘s Democratic Dictatorship ，"New China did not need to urgently establish closerelations with these countries，and the Chinese leadership showed more concernfor the working people in these countries.
At the Conference of Trade Unions of Asia and Oceania convened in November 1949，Liu Shaoqi clearly defined many of the states as "colonial or semi-colonial nations，"and spoke glowingly of the revolutionary situation and the development of armedstruggles in Asian countries.He also declared that the victory of the Chinese revolutionwas both an inspiration to and an example for the "war of national liberation"inthese countries ，and that New China would shoulder "heavy responsibilities‘’to aid revolutions in other countries .25
Once New China openly declared its obligation to aid the revolutionary movement，especially the armed struggles in a number of countries ，it would have been difficultto develop normal relations with the governments of these countries.Although thedecisions to aid Vietnam against France and Korea against America were made mainlyout of considerations for the national security of China，some Asian governmentssaw them as an embodiment of China‘s revolutionary stance and as policies for aidingthe revolutionary Movement，and thus regarded China with apprehension.Clearlythe diplomatic principles formulated against the background of victory in the revolution，the world outlook they embodied ，and the inherent momentum of revolutionary movements，had become the main obstacles to the development of diplomatic relations with othercountries.
At the beginning of 1951there appeared a trend towards the localization ofthe Korean War，and in February the Chinese leadership began to take economic constructionas the ``central task ‘’and proposed starting large-scale economic constructionafter twenty-two months of preparation.In the autumn of 1952，domestic developmentsconvinced the Chinese leaders that the transitional period had come to an end.TheFirst Five-year Plan was instituted in 1953and the whole country was geared tolarge-scale economic construction.With the new developments at home it was imperativeto make adjustments to China‘s foreign policy.
China faced two ma n national security problems ：One was the Korean War ，which not only threatened the security of New China ，but was also a drain on China‘s manpower，materials and finance.The best alternative was therefore to endthe war as soon as possible.The other was the worsening security situation surroundingChina that had resulted mainly from American expansion in Asia and its policy ofcontainment towards China.America began to build up a military encirclement aroundChina during the Korean War ，consisting of military bases ，a stronger militarypresence and military pacts ，and posed a long-term threat to China.The most urgenttask for national security at that time was to improve relations with neighboringcountries.
It was under such conditions that between 1952and 1954China developed itsforeign policy of a united front for peace，and tried to unite as many peace-lovingcountries as possible.The two main objectives of this policy ，"enhancing thetrend towards peace and neutrality，"and "enlarging the zone of peace and neutrality‘’were fulfilled first of all in areas around China.To be precise，the new foreignpolicy was carried out to create a security buffer zone around China .
The policy of a united front for peace brought about obvious changes in NewChina ‘s diplomacy -the signing of a cease-fire agreement in Korea in The summerof 1953，the insistence on ending the Indo-China War by means of peace negotiationsduring the Geneva Conference，and the drive for good neighborly relations withAsian nations after the conclusion of the Geneva Conference -were all directly relatedto this policy.Published historical information and research in this regard arestill not sufficient to fully reveal the shaping process of this policy.However，we can see clearly the following important changes in the thinking of the Chineseleadership.
First and foremost，the basic aim of the new foreign policy was to preserveChina ‘s national security.This was characterized by the creation of a bufferzone between China and the imperialist countries such as the US ，and by the establishmentof a "collective peace’‘and the enlargement of the ``peace area.’‘The enforcementof this policy presupposed good relations with surrounding countries and it wasthus necessary to reevaluate their natures and roles
Secondly，closely related to the policy mentioned above was a deepening ofunderstanding of state diplomacy.As shown by documents now made public ，on 30April 1952Zhou Enlai stated explicitly for the first time that diplomacy "is therelations between states."26This statement was of great significance ，since itmeant that the essential difference between New China ‘s diplomacy and that ofthe Chinese revolutionary movement in terms of their respective relations with foreigncountries was finally acknowledged and revealed .
Even if Zhou Enlai‘s statement in 1952was only a general summation of previousexperiences ，there was no mistaking the aim of the new foreign policy.The questionat the top of the agenda was how to develop closer relations with countries in the"`intermediary zone ，"especially the surrounding Asian states.Previously ，theChinese Communists had mainly had relations with the "brotherly states"led by the"brotherly Parties"within the Soviet camp，and the "principle of proletarian internationalism"that governed these relations was in direct line with that governing the foreignrelations of the revolutionary government.However，this principle was not universallyapplicable in the relations with other countries，and even problematic in relationswith the "brotherly states.".Thus the special background and needs of New China’s diplomacy led to the birth of the five principles of peaceful coexistence .
The Geneva Conference convened in April 1954provided a critical occasion forimplementing the five principles of peaceful coexistence.Their success at the conferencegreatly encouraged the Chinese leadership ，and spurred them on to abandon theprinciple of "cleaning up the house first ，then inviting guests ‘’at the enlargedPolitical Bureau meeting on 7July 1954，and to step out onto the world stage.27Guided by this policy ，New China tried its best to pursue good-neighbor diplomacyin Asia.A series of policies were formulated in quick succession ，including thoserelated to the solution of border questions with neighboring states ，the dualnationality of overseas Chinese in Asia ，and non-interference in the internalaffairs of Asian non-socialist countries.
Historical developments demonstrated that the appearance of the five principlesof peaceful coexistence was a milestone in the development of the diplomacy of thePeople‘s Republic of China.It signaled the critical transition from the diplomacyof the revolutionary movement to state diplomacy，and was a sign of the ultimateformation of New China’s diplomacy.
The Formation of Diplomatic Policy in New China and
COMPARING THE CHINESE AND VIETNAMESE REFORMS ：AN IN