Polish-Chinese Relations from 2004 to 2009: Main Issues and Developments
Polish-Chinese Relations from 2004 to 2009: Main Issues and Developments

Summary/Abstract: In the wake of Poland’s systemic changes after 1989 the relations with China have weakened, reflecting not only the communist regime’s grudge but also Poland’s failure to define its new foreign policy goals. Top of the agenda at that time were relations with neighbours and memberships of NATO and the European Union. For this reason—plus the poor state of the Polish economy at the time (with the concurrent limited room to finance major foreign policy projects) and the need to build democratic structures at home—cooperation with China did not make it to the list of Polish priorities. Also, the pacification of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing on 4 June 1989 greatly tarnished China’s image in Poland, and this negative perception has largely persisted till today, being petrified by the Polish media which look at China primarily through the prism of sensitive issues, such as human rights, Tibet, and the 1989 events. And finally, the Polish foreign policy has been marred by lack of continuity after changes in ruling coalitions, which means that a policy initiated by one cabinet (e.g. an intensification of relations with China) is not always picked up by the next.

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