How did the end of the cultural revolution affect Chinese foreign policy

The Cultural Revolution took place under Mao Zedong geared towards completely changing the Chinese society.

It was an ideological campaign that last for 10 years between 1966 and 1976.

The revolution was in response to growing 'intellectualism' in the Chinese society which was giving rise to ideas of democracy and freedom. There was also rampant corruption that Mao wanted to reign in on.

The overall goal of Mao was to solidify this control on power and develop powerful ideals of communism among the masses.

During the Cultural Revolution, China's international political relationships almost became stagnant. Due to continuous purges in the communist party, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not function properly.

Most relations, especially with countries in the West and Japan, did not get better.

Relations with the world's two Super Powers, Russia and the United States were based on skepticism and trust issues, as the government was vary of their influence in China.

The communist party did use this time to try to build relations with non-aligned third world countries.

However, normal foreign diplomatic relations only improved after the cultural revolution ended.