Foreign policymakers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were never fully convinced that it was a good idea for the country’s scientists to be involved in the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Although PRC physicist Zhou Peiyuan was authorised to take part in three of the first five Pugwash conferences and he would lead a Chinese delegation to the sixth Pugwash conference, held in Moscow 1960, this early participation was consistently considered a risky prospect by officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was subject to much internal discussion and preparation. One of the primary justifications for this participation was to demonstrate solidarity with other fraternal countries whose scientists were involved. This paper considers the nature and trajectory of Sino-Central European relations in the context of Pugwash alongside Chinese scientists’ engagement with their counterparts from Central Europe through the conferences. In particular, it examines the factors which shaped those relations in Pugwash from the point of view of the officials and scientists involved in decision-making back in Beijing and which ultimately saw PRC scientists withdraw from Pugwash after 1960 and make blistering criticisms of the conferences and those still involved.
