The Struggle between Chinese Diplomats V. K. Wellington Koo and Chengting Thomas Wang and the Conclusion of the “Agreement on General Principles” between the USSR and the Republic of China in 1924

The objective of this article is to analyse the influence of the prolonged confrontation between two distinguished Chinese diplomats, V. K. Wellington Koo and Chengting Thomas Wang, during the negotiations for China's recognition of the USSR (14 September 1923 – 31 May 1924). This topic has not been extensively explored in Russian scholarship, despite being widely documented in the diplomatic archives of Republican China (1912-1949). In this study, the author draws upon a range of archival materials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, as well as memoirs and diaries written by those who were directly involved in the events under discussion. The author's aim is to present a detailed account of the struggle between Koo and Wang (顧王之爭), as well as the latter's conflict with the Cabinet. In 1924, the actions of the Ministers nearly resulted in the breakdown of the negotiations surrounding the “Agreement on General Principles for the Settlement of Questions Between the Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”. This agreement was regarded as a fundamental step towards the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Moscow. In examining the origins of the conflict between Koo and Wang, the author posits that the underlying issue transcends the personal enmity perceived to exist between the two diplomats. Rather, the crux of the matter can be situated within the context of Chinese diplomacy during this era, which was characterized by the coexistence of two distinct approaches: professional diplomacy (the Peking government's diplomacy), epitomized by V. K. Wellington Koo, and people's diplomacy (the Guangzhou government's diplomacy), exemplified by Chengting Thomas Wang

China · Economic history · Political science · Chinese history and philosophy · Global Political and Economic Relations · History · Law