Circumventing the Cold War.The parallel diplomacy of economic and cultural exchanges between Western Europe and Socialist China in the 1950s and 1960s: An introduction

This article introduces the Special Issue examining various Western European countries' pre-recognition diplomacy towards the People's Republic of China. The authors presents their proposal of innovative approach to parallel diplomacy in the early decade of the Cold War, the choice to focus on China and the selection of case studies invited in the special issue. Overall, they argue for the integration of studies on classic political relations and state diplomacy with attention to non-state actors, their relations with governments and agency as diplomats.