Black History in the Chinese Imagination: From Maoist Revolution to Deng Xiaoping’s Reforms, 1964–1989

Abstract This article examines Chinese interpretations of the Black experience in the United States and maps its evolution from 1964 to 1989. It argues that the transition of the People’s Republic of China ( prc ) from a revolutionary socialist state under Mao Zedong in the 1960s to a socialist state focused on implementing Deng Xiaoping’s socioeconomic reforms in the 1980s necessitated a reimaging of the prc ’s engagement with African Americans. Western literature on the prc ’s engagement with African Americans has focused primarily on Mao’s China between 1949 and 1976. The aim of this article is to examine Chinese engagement with Black history and African Americans into the Reform Era to contribute to this body of literature. By bridging the 1976 divide, it offers a novel interpretation that demonstrates how accelerated international exchanges and the prc ’s domestic reforms defined Sino-African American engagement.