BOOK: Vincent K.L. CHANG, Forgotten Diplomacy, The Modern Remaking of Dutch-Chinese Relations, 1927–1950. Series: Studies on Modern East Asian History, Vol. 2 (Leiden/Boston: Nijhoff/Brill, 2019). ISBN: 9789004410701, € 149.00

(Source Brill)

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this meticulously researched volume, Vincent Chang resurrects a near forgotten yet pivotal chapter of Dutch-Chinese ties to narrate how World War II, the civil war in China, and Indonesia’s decolonization redefined and remade this age-old bilateral relationship. 

Drawing on a unique range of hitherto unexplored archives, the book explains how China’s nascent rise on the global scene and the Netherlands’ simultaneous decline as a colonial power shaped events in Dutch-controlled Indonesia (and vice versa) and prompted a re-calibration of their mutual ties, culminating in the Netherlands’ recognition of the People’s Republic and laying the foundations for Dutch and Chinese policies through to the present. 

Offering insightful analyses of power dynamics and international law at the close of empire, this book is a critical resource for historians and China specialists as well as scholars of international relations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vincent K.L. Chang, PhD (2016), a Dutch lawyer and historian, is Associate Professor of History at Southwest University (China) specializing in modern Chinese history and diplomacy. He also teaches at Leiden University and serves as a fellow of the LeidenAsiaCentre.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
List of Plates
Note
Introduction
 1 Dutch Diplomatic History
 2 Chinese Diplomatic History
 3 Merging Histories
 4 Traits of Modern Dutch-Chinese Relations
 5 Aims, Arguments, and Organization of the Book

Part 1: Readjustment
1 Diplomatic Relations During the Prewar Years: 1927–1936
 1 International Context
 2 Development of Bilateral Ties
 3 Dutch Official Representation in China
 4 Chinese Official Representation in the Netherlands
 5 Conclusion
2 Remission of the Dutch Share in China’s Boxer Indemnity
 1 A Watershed Moment
 2 The Central Hydraulic Research Institute at Nanjing
 3 Life, Loss, and Lasting Friendship
 4 Effects and Significance
Plates 1–24

Part 2: Realignment
3 Diplomatic Relations during the War Years: 1937–1945
 1 International Context
 2 Development of Bilateral Ties
 3 Dutch Official Representation in China
 4 Chinese Official Representation in the Netherlands
 5 Conclusion
4 Abrogation of Dutch Extraterritorial Rights in China
 1 The System of Extraterritoriality in China
 2 Extraterritoriality and Dutch-Chinese Treaty Relations
 3 The Dutch-Chinese Treaty of
 4 Effects and Significance
Plates 25–45

Part 3: Reset
5 Diplomatic Relations during the Postwar Years: 1946–1950
 1 International Context
 2 Development of Bilateral Ties
 3 Dutch Official Representation in China
 4 Chinese Official Representation in the Netherlands
 5 Conclusion
6 Recognition of the People’s Republic of China
 1 Early Encounters
 2 The Path to Recognition
 3 Rationales, Response, Result
 4 Effects and Significance

Conclusion
 1 Change and Continuity
 2 Policies and People
 3 Power Dynamics
 4 Past and Present
 5 The Future Past
Appendix 1: Chronology of Major Events
Appendix 2: Overview of Senior Envoys, 1927–1950
Appendix 3: Exchange of Notes Dated 4 April 1933
Appendix 4: Joint Announcement Dated 15 February 1943
Appendix 5: Dutch-Chinese Treaty of 29 May 1945
Appendix 6: Notes on Recognition, March/April 1950
Bibliography
Index

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