Abstract
This essay seeks to present a historic overview of this relationship as it developed between the 1960s and 1970s and showcase how certain events impacted this development. Canada has had a steadily growing economic relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since the latter’s reform and opening up policy under Deng Xiaoping in 1978. The development of this relationship was not a forgone conclusion, as Cold War tensions initially heightened ideological tensions between Maoist China and capitalist democracies like Canada. The path of normalization was impacted by both domestic and international events involving both Canada and the PRC, which affected how both countries would attempt any form of engagement. The growing development of economic ties between Canada and China, and a mutual pragmatic desire for expanding trade, proved to be an important factor for both countries to put aside their ideological differences in a Cold War environment in order to normalize relations with one another.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Brendan. 2020. "Isolation Versus Engagement: The Economic Factors in Sino-Canadian Relations, 1960s-1970s." Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections 4, (1). https://scholars.wlu.ca/bridges_contemporary_connections/vol4/iss1/3
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