337 Chinese cultural diplomacy towards Latin America, 1949–1960 From 1949 to 1960, between 75,000 and 100,000 foreigners visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and almost half of that number of Chinese went abroad. Engaged in a sustained program of cultural diplomacy, the PRC received visitors from more than 100 countries and sent around 400 Chinese delegations to participate in international sports meetings, drama and film festivals, musical contests and exhibitions. 1 Partly because of its Marxist-Leninist revolutionary ideology, and partly due to the necessity of what Mao Zedong described as China’s “semifeudal, semicolonial” status in the modern era, managing foreigners and establishing people-to-people contacts was an early priority of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) waishi, or foreign affairs. 2 This policy of “propaganda and invitations,” which had its roots in Soviet diplomacy, was an effective means of attaining a positive international reputation in the face of widespread non-recognition. After the rise to power of the CCP in 1949, the PRC had to secure a strategic role both within the Communist bloc but also with capitalist and non-aligned countries, most of which still maintained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, exiled in Taiwan. With the aim of generating authority through consensus, the underlying principle of this policy was the use of soft power, i.e. the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce. 3 For years, the Chinese invited intellectuals, scholars, liberal professionals and artists (“progressive, peace loving people of the world”) to travel in supervised tours through carefully selected parts of the country. Visitors met with national delegates who displayed the achievements of the new system and the highlights of traditional culture. They received publications and brochures in various languages in the expectation that they would write favorable reports back home. By using foreigners as a tool to export Chinese culture, the Chinese sought to win friends and neutralize opponents. According to William Ratliff, Chinese Communist foreign policy went through several phases during the 1949–1960 period. In general terms, the aggressiveness of the revolutionary years in the late 1940s turned increasingly toward a policy of “peaceful coexistence,” and became hostile again at the end of the 1950s. 4 The second stage, characterized by the diplomatic effort of pro- moting peaceful relations with capitalist governments – rather than supporting socialist revolution to overthrow them – reached its peak at the Bandung Conference in 1955. At this international 31 INTELLECTUAL CARTOGRAPHIES OF THE COLD WAR Latin American visitors to the People’s Republic of China, 1952–1958 Rosario Hubert 15031-0515-FullBook.indd 337 10/4/2016 4:05:22 PM