7. Evolution of Commercial Relationships

This chapter gives an overview of what the end of the Second World War entailed, the difficulties and changes faced by the two countries within the new world order that was emerging after the war, and how these influenced a more convinced recovery relations between the two countries to the present day. Before the communist party came to power, the Chinese economy had only undergone sporadic modernization. The Soviet Union provides the new regime, which increased the sphere of socialist influence to about half a billion people, both as a development model and as a source of financial support. But as early as the end of the 1950s, doubts about the relevance of the model lead, on both sides, due to political and ideological frictions, to the 1960 breakup originating on the Chinese side. The communist leaders, once the destruction linked to war (first against Japan, then the civil war between nationalists and communists) had been repaired, found themselves having to face questions concerning development, ranging, from how to finance investment to which industrialization strategy to adopt and to which role to give to the peasant class. Italy also had to face up to a tough post-war period and will resume its economic and commercial relations with China after 1969, with official recognition as a People’s Republic.