Abstract

In this paper, the complex diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union are examined during the period 1920-1925 as related to both the Beiyang and Guangdong governments. Through a comparison of the diplomatic methods adopted by the respective factions, the work also discusses what consequences this will have for the political structure of China. The central question at issue is to what extent the various Chinese governments were able to interact with the Soviet Union during a time when China was being rocked by political turmoil. Whether this research will uncover any answers on how alliances are formed and what complexities a revolutionary age brings to foreign policy remains to be seen. The empirical research method uses historical documentation and scholarly literature to compare the diplomatic strategies of the Beiyang and Guangdong governments. This study aims to identify the driving forces behind their approach and what effect their policy had on China’s relations with the Soviet Union. The world needs to know what determined China’s diplomatic practices and international climate in the formative decades leading up to World War One. By examining the influence of internal politics, external forces and ideological orientations on the conduct of diplomacy, the analysis adds a great deal to our grasp of the problems of diplomacy. This study also explores how Sino-Soviet cultural diplomacy influenced Chinese urban artistic transformation, shaping visual arts, theatre, and film through Soviet socialist realism and institutional frameworks.