The Sino-French Relation in the Indochina Issue at the Geneva Conference in 1954

Abstract

Examining the Sino-French relations in the resolution of the Indochina problems in the Geneva Conference helps explain in the impacts on the Conference and further our understanding of this meeting. Before the open of the Conference, the Sino-French relations stayed in a hostile condition. The Chinese Government supported the Vietnamese people in the war against French invaders. From the mid-1953 onwards, however, China and France sought to deal with the war in Indochina by means of negotiation and thus they agreed to summon the Geneva Conference. During the first period of the negotiation, there was still a wide gap in agreements between China and France. Until July 20, after multisided talks, France and China reached agreement about the Vietnam issues. On 21 July, after documents of the Convention were signed, the negotiation on Indochina reached an end. Generally, during this period of negotiation, the Sino-French contacts were all important and effective meetings. Therefore, the Geneva Conference not only brought peace to the Indochinese peninsula, but also provided contribution to the peace in the Far East and in the world.