The Early Activities of COMECON and Economic Relations between China and Eastern European States (1949–1960)
The Early Activities of COMECON and Economic Relations between China and Eastern European States (1949–1960)

Summary/Abstract: As a regional organization for economic cooperation, COMECON was founded under specific historical conditions and played an important role in the economic cooperation of socialist countries. All of the Eastern European members of COMECON, with different levels of economic development, displayed their dependence on the external economy at the beginning of modernization. Their process of industrialization needed the support of both technology and market, and also a relatively stable supply of raw materials. The form of economic cooperation of socialist countries was determined by the degree of industrialization, as well as by the reciprocity principles of socialist ideology. The economic relations between China and Eastern European states were ones of mutual benefit based on bilateral agreements. China attended the Session of the COMECON Council as an observer in 1955, but their relations did not develop further due to the influence of the Sino-Soviet dispute in the 1960s. However, China kept its economic relations with Eastern European states, and benefited from the economic cooperation of socialist countries during the primary stage of its modernization process.

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