“China's Tortuous Path to IUPAP: An Enlightening Case of Chinese Science Diplomacy during the Cold War”

On the occasion of the centenary of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, this volume features contributions from leading science historians from around the world on the changing roles of the institution in international affairs from its foundation in 1922 to the present. The case studies presented in this volume show the multitude of functions that IUPAP had and how these were related to the changing international political contexts. 

The book is divided into three parts. The first discusses the interwar period demonstrating how the exclusion of communities of the Central Powers from international scientific institutions imposed by victorious allied countries made IUPAP ineffective until the end of World War II. The second part analyses the changing roles assumed by IUPAP starting from its complete renovation after World War II. Case studies covering the role of IUPAP in physics education, in metrology, in joint commissions with other unions, and in defining the complex relations between pure and applied physics provide examples of IUPAP's impact on the world of science. Part III squarely addresses the science diplomacy aspects of IUPAP during the Cold War highlighting the importance of IUPAP in furthering diplomatic goals and explaining the origin of the pursuit of the free circulation of scientists as the activity that characterized the main function of international unions during the Cold War.

This chapter explores the People’s Republic of China’s long and arduous journey towards IUPAP membership spanning the 1950s to the 1980s, revealing the significant Cold War impact on China’s science diplomacy. The apparent fluctuation in China’s stance actually underscores a consistent element in the PRC’s foreign policy: the One-China Principle, which was the core in the dispute between IUPAP and the PRC. It was the dedicated efforts of a group of perceptive scientists, both in China and overseas, as well as IUPAP officials that ultimately resolved this thorny membership issue in 1984, after the global acceptance of the One-China Principle and the improvement of Sino-U.S. relations. Nevertheless, decades of the PRC’s exclusion from IUPAP inevitably took a toll on scientific advancements both within mainland China and the broader international physics community, serving as a Cold War lesson to be learned.