Grey Ships under the Red Flag: China, Poland, the 1952 Chipolbrok Flag Dispute and Maritime Geopolitics during the Early Cold War

Abstract In the early 1950s, the People's Republic of China established Chipolbrok, its first Sino‐foreign joint shipping company, marking Poland as a key partner in the development of China's ocean‐going trade and transportation. However, against the backdrop of the trade embargo imposed on China by the US‐led bloc, the acquisition of ships and their registration became major obstacles in Chipolbrok's early operations. To circumvent the embargo, the Chinese side transferred three cargo ships from Huaxia, known as the ‘3M’ ships, to Chipolbrok, registering them under the Polish flag and placing them under Polish management. However, since the original Panamanian registration of these three ships had not been legally revoked in accordance with international law, this led to a little‐known ship dispute in 1952 – an international conflict involving China, Poland and Panama on the subject of ship procurement and registry alteration. This article examines the differing perceptions and response strategies of China and Poland during this crisis, revealing that ideological consistency was not only an important political resource for both countries to jointly counter external pressure, but also the foundational legitimacy underpinning Sino‐Polish maritime cooperation. At the same time, this ship registry dispute serves as a critical lens to examine the diplomatic logic of the New China in the context of the dynamic pressures of the early Cold War and within the dynamics of maritime geopolitics.