ABSTRACT
The chapter analyzes the discourse of the Cold War in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC was a force multiplier for the international Cold War macrosecuritization, yet it did not remain static in its constellations. Indeed, the Sino-Soviet split was a key event in the vicissitudes of the ideologically based global antagonism and went at the face of many of its premises. In the post-Cold War era, the PRC has actively maintained the desecuritization of the Cold War to keep itself off the security agendas of major powers and to keep expanding its period of ‘strategic opportunity.’ The discourse on ‘Cold War mentality’ connects to views on polarity in world politics and is a crucial aspect of the PRC’s identity politics.
