Britain, the United States and the civil war in China, 1946–47

Abstract

This article focuses on the attitude of the British Foreign Office towards the course of the Chinese Civil War. It is a revisionist interpretation of cold war history, drawn from a study of Anglo‐American relations with regard to Chinese politics during this period. Traditional interpretations have emphasised the unchallenged nature of American involvement in China after the war. The article argues that during this period Britain actively sought to compete for such a predominant position and, specifically, that the Foreign Office sought to replace the United States with Britain as the predominant Western influence in post‐war Chinese politics.