The London School of Economics and Political Science Defying Moscow, engaging Beijing: The German Democratic Republic’s relations with the People’s Republic of China, 1980-1989 Zhong Zhong Chen A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2014 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 87,593 words. Abbreviations BA Bundesarchiv, Berlin BStU Der Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik CAAC Civil Aviation Administration of China CC Central Committee CCP Chinese Communist Party CDU Christlich Demokratische Union CIA Central Intelligence Agency CoCom Coordinating Committee on multilateral exports control COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union CSCE Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe CSU Christlich Soziale Union DM Deutsche Mark EC European Community EEC European Economic Community FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FDJ Freie Deutsche Jugend FO Foreign Office FRG Federal Republic of Germany GBP Pound sterling GDR German Democratic Republic GQT Gongchanzhuyi Qingniantuan (共产主义青年团) HPA Hebei Provincial Archives ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile JPA Jiangsu Provincial Archives KMT Kuomingtang KGB Soviet Committee for State Security KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives, Beijing MFAA Ministerium für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten MFS Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Stasi) NARA National Archives and Record Administration at College Park NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation PAAA Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amts, Berlin PDS Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus PLA People’s Liberation Army PZPR Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish Worker’s Party) PRC People’s Republic of China SAPMO Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR, Berlin SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands SEZ Special Economic Zone SMA Shanghai Municipal Archives, Shanghai SPA Shandong Provincial Archives, Jinan SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands TNA The National Archives, London UK United Kingdom UN United Nations US United States USSR Union of Socialist Soviet Republics Table of Contents Abbreviations 3 Note on spelling and translations 7 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 Simmering frictions with Moscow 12 Rebellion against Moscow, engagement with China 16 Incentives in bilateral relations 17 Structure & Scope 23 Historiography 25 Sources 42 Chapter One - Diplomacy behind Moscow’s Back: East German-Chinese Rapprochement, 1979-1982 44 Introduction 44 Between Moscow and Beijing: from “like-mindedness” to enmity, 1956-1976 46 From Maoism to Dengism: The effect of pragmatic domestic policy on Chinese foreign policy 50 Foreign policy as a means for reform: Renewed engagement with the GDR 53 The abandonment of Soviet China-policy – From total adherence to total disobedience 55 A changing tone – Inter-German relations’ effect on Soviet-GDR relations 60 Don’t threaten our détente – East Berlin’s intransigence towards Moscow’s war in Afghanistan 63 East German disillusionment and the Solidarność strikes 66 Soviet abandonment: Missing oil deliveries 68 Renewed contact between East Berlin and Beijing – 1980-1981 70 The waning importance of Soviet policy coordination 73 Soviet duplicity in China 78 Conclusion 81 Chapter Two - Defying Moscow - East German-Chinese relations during the Andropov- Chernenko power vacuum, 1983-84 83 Introduction 83 “Die China-Mafia” – Death of the Interkit 85 Frictions and opportunities – Sino-GDR relations seen through Soviet-East German tensions 92 Deepening Relations 96 Expanding Trade Relations 101 Conclusion 113 Chapter Three – Honecker meets Deng, 1985-86 115 Introduction 115 Gorbachev from Pankow’s perspective 118 China and Gorbachev: Gaige Kaifang above Perestroika and Glasnost 124 Laying the groundwork – Sino-East German summitry leading up to Honecker’s state visit 128 Beijing’s interests 133 Setting the stage for a meeting 136 Honecker’s visit 139 Honecker’s lessons 142 Tangible results 148 Honecker the statesman 153 Conclusion 159 Chapter Four: Friends in the time of turmoil, 1987-88 161 Introduction 161 Soviet-East German relations: A growing sense of abandonment 162 Soviet-FRG relations from Pankow’s view: Why can you and we can’t? 165 Looking East – Soviet East Asian policy 168 Holding back East Berlin 172 China: Reform at a price 176 A budding ideological relationship 179 Conclusion 184 Chapter Five: Ideological Allies: Tiananmen and the Fall of the Wall, 1988-1990 188 Introduction 188 “Socialism in the Colour of the GDR” meets “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” 191 Unrest 196 Tiananmen 200 “Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben” 206 Conclusion 212 Conclusion 215 Economics 216 A question of prestige 218 Ideology 220 Of ‘big ships’ and ‘small ships’ 224 Bibliography 228 Primary Sources 228 Secondary Sources 232 6 Note on spelling and translations For Chinese words I have generally used the Hanyu Pinyin system due to both its widespread adoption and its employment as the standard for the Romanisation of Chinese characters by the People’s Republic of China. I have translated all original quotations in other languages into English in order to facilitate reading. I have opted against the Pinyin transliteration of Chinese book titles & archival sources, as doing so renders them more inaccessible for reference. 7 Abstract As Deng Xiaoping assumed China’s paramount leadership position in 1978, he first and foremost sought to bring China out of a period of economic decline and international isolation defined by the Cultural Revolution. Having already established first contacts with the US and Western European states in the early 1970s, Beijing under Deng swung open its doors further to the rest of the world in order to source foreign investment as well as technology transfers. While most existing literature has been focused on how Deng’s rise was received in the US, Western Europe and Asia, almost no literature exists on how this change was perceived in Eastern Europe. This study aims to address this lacuna by examining how the Soviet Union’s once ‘most-loyal’ client state and its bastion on the front lines of the Cold War, the GDR, increasingly defied a Moscow-imposed anti-China policy to engage China for economic and political gain during the 1980s. Chapter one will begin with a general overview of GDR-China relations before the period of analysis. It will highlight that East Germany first enjoyed amicable relations with China, only to be reined in during the Sino-Soviet Split by Moscow to conform to a general anti- China line. It will argue that as Deng rose to power in Beijing and repeated frictions beset Soviet-GDR relations, East Berlin gradually sought an independent foreign policy towards China in order to take advantage of China’s opening to the world. Chapter Two examines bilateral relations in the early 1980s. It argues that the GDR was at first motivated by potential trade ties with Beijing in order to bolster its sagging economy. Chapter Three reveals that relations continued to develop towards the middle of the decade, despite Moscow’s protestations. Honecker was duly rewarded with a state visit to Beijing in 1986 for his efforts, the first by a Soviet-bloc leader after the onset of the Sino-Soviet Split. Chapters Four and Five show that amidst Gorbachev’s Perestroika and Glasnost the GDR and the PRC increasingly found ideological commonalities in preserving the political status- quo in East Berlin and Beijing. This dogmatic resistance towards political reforms would eventually lead to very different consequences in both countries. 8 Acknowledgements While I was repeatedly warned before embarking on the PhD that it would be a very lonely endeavour, I was nevertheless very lucky to have had some very good friends along the way. Pete Millwood, Jamie Miller, Martin Albers, Mark Miller, Zach Fredman, Aaron Rietkerk, Andrea Chiampan, Simon Toner, Margit Wunsch, Sergey Radchenko & Bernd Schäfer read all or parts of this thesis and enriched it with their suggestions and comments. In addition, Odd Arne Westad, Chen Jian, Vladislav Zubok, Gregg Brazinsky as well as Enrico Fardella answered queries and provided useful insight during my writing process. On archival trips to China as well as a four-month stint at Peking University, Niu Jun offered his wisdom and time, for this I am very grateful. In addition, Chen Fengxiao, Zhou Sicong, Shen Zhihua, Yang Kuisong, Shen Guoliang, Liu Qibao, Wu Derong have all provided insightful comments on the Chinese perspective, adding greatly to my understanding of the Deng Xiaoping- era. In Berlin, I am indebted to Stefan Wolle & Mechtild Leutner for pointing me in the