China, the WFTU, and Communist Internationalism: Labour Diplomacy and Transnational Networks, 1949–1966

Using a rich set of multilingual sources, this article traces the underexplored history of China's involvement in the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) from 1949 to 1966. It details the WFTU's role in providing an institutional infrastructure for China's international activism and documents the All-China Federation of Trade Unions' engagements with socialist internationalism and people's diplomacy. After 1960, against the backdrop of the Sino-Soviet split, the WFTU became a platform for Chinese dissent against pro-Soviet positions. After a decade of mutual collaboration, China's position changed dramatically and relations with the WFTU were eventually halted in 1966 due to developments in the international communist movement and the radicalization of China's internal and external politics. By focusing on the WFTU, the article highlights the possibilities (and constraints) presented by Soviet-backed international organisations for China's foreign relations, illuminating broader issues related to China's socialist internationalism, labour diplomacy, and transnational networks during the early Cold War.