CHINESE DOCTRINE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE ERA OF MAO ZEDONG AND DENG XIAOPING (1949–1992)

The Chinese doctrine of international law was formed in the second half of the XX century, largely under the influence of Soviet doctrine. Many of the borrowed ideas were later modified and adapted to the PRC’s foreign policy objectives. This article examines the history of Chinese doctrine from 1949 (the founding of the PRC) to 1992 (the victory of the reformists). During this period, China underwent several radical changes in both domestic and foreign policy. These changes, however, hardly affected legal doctrine: works published in the 1980^s are less radical than those published in the 1950^s, but also emphasise sovereignty, reconciliation of wills, coexistence, etc. After an examination of the internal and external contexts, the author describes development of legal education and science, Marxist approach as the methodological basis of Chinese doctrine, positions of Chinese doctrine in relation to particular problems of international law and, finally, its contribution to the development of international law as seen by Chinese scholars themselves. The conclusion highlights the general features of Chinese doctrine. These include loyalty of scholars to the state, lack of claims to originality, shortage of criticism and public debate, structuralisation of doctrine, underdevelopment of abstract thinking and legal language, narrow (Chinese) perspective and significant external influences. Many of these features are explained by the special social status of the Chinese scholar: Chinese intellectuals never formed a separate class, but were always part of the ruling class; an important part of a scholar’s career was passing the civil service examination; his main goal was not to establish the truth, but to support the government and care for the people. Overall, the Chinese doctrine of international law appears to be a unique and interesting artefact. On the one hand, it reproduces many Western ideas; on the other hand, it contains elements of Confucian morality, expresses a Sinocentric conception of the world order, and has similarities with the doctrines of the imperial and Kuomintang periods. The question of its prospects for development and its possible influence on the global order remains open.