Making the Foreign Serve China: Managing Foreigners in the People’s Republic

Product Description


This book provides the first detailed analysis of a crucial and distinctive element of Chinese foreign policy. Anne-Marie Brady follows the development of the Chinese Communist Party's "foreign affairs" system since 1921, focusing on waishi, the external policies intended to influence and control both foreigners themselves as well as Chinese citizens' contact with and perception of outsiders. The term also comprises China's external relations--both official state-to-state and so-called unofficial or "people-to-people" diplomacy. In effect, waishi activities encompass all matters related to foreigners and foreign things, not merely diplomacy. By managing the foreign presence in China and China's contacts with the outside world and by controlling the Chinese population, the author argues that waishi has proven to be one of the most effective tools in the CCP's repertoire for building and then sustaining its hold on power.

Drawing for the first time on policy documents that underpin the phenomena they describe, Brady analyzes trends and developments in waishi during each chronological period. The book elucidates how the CCP's policies evolved: In the 1930s, the need for a broad united front in international relations warred with the desire to control the foreign presence in China; in the 1940s and 1950s, the Sino-Soviet alliance and ridding China of the traces of the "semi-colonial" past took precedence; in the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet split led to China's claim as the center of world revolution; and in the past twenty years of reform, the focus has been the ongoing quest to create a modern nation-state as China opens up to the outside world.

The author considers waishi's deeper meaning as an overriding approach to the "foreign," which links state-to-state diplomacy with the management of the foreign presence in China. Her groundbreaking research is based on a previously unexplored genre of waishi materials (almost all classified) in Chinese, extensive interviews with waishi officials and foreign participant


Review


Brady has broken important new ground and produced a richly documented, clearly written study that should be read not only by anyone interested in Chinese foreign affairs and by China-desk officers in foreign chanceries, but also by anyone planning to take up residence in the People's Republic of China. (
The China Journal)

The volume is clearly written and insightful. Highly recommended. (
Choice)

An extremely well researched and organized exposition of the 'waishi' system by which the Communist Party and Chinese government has consistently dealt with the outside world since the 1920s. . . . Foreigners who live and work in China would benefit greatly from Brady's insights. (
China Church Quarterly)

So lapidary in its style, and so informative. . . . [An] invaluable book. (Jonathan Mirsky
The Spectator)


Making the Foreign Serve China is a successful account of an area of PRC policy that doesn't get much attention, but that affects foreigners every day. The text is digestible and will engage anyone with basic knowledge of modern Chinese history. (
China Business Review)

So lapidary in its style, and so informative. . . . [An] invaluable book..... (Jonathan Mirsky
The Spectator)

Central to the understanding of any alien culture is the orientation of perception of the Other. Anne-Marie Brady's fascinating book attempts to clarify how the Chinese Communist regime seeks to frame the Chinese people's relationship to foreigners--ranging from revolutionary sympathizers to curious tourists. (Dittmer, Lowell)

Brady's book is a rich and solidly researched study on an important topic in contemporary Chinese history. It is insightful and well written. (
China Review International)

Anyone who has lived and worked in China is familiar with the foreign affairs officer, or
Wai Ban, who is responsible for managing foreigners' contacts and relations with the local community. Most are courteous and helpf