 | |
 China |  Poland |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of China,Warsaw | Embassy of Poland,Beijing |
Relations between the People's Republic of China and Poland officially began on October 5, 1949.[1][2]
Contact between thePolish andChinese people date back several centuries. In the mid-17th century, notable PolishJesuit missionariesMichał Boym andJan Mikołaj Smogulecki arrived to China. Boym significantly expanded the knowledge of China inEurope with his works, among which were the pioneering botany bookFlora Sinensis[5] and detailed maps of China.[3][4] He also introducedChinese medicine in Europe, including the analysis of thepulse.[5] Smogulecki taught European mathematics and astronomy in China, and introducedlogarithms to China.[6] Both Boym and Smogulecki had contacts with the Imperial Court of China.[4][6]
In the 17th century, there werediplomatic approaches between the courts of John III Sobieski and the Kangxi Emperor. Relations between the Polish King John III Sobieski and the Chinese Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty were the first official diplomatic contacts between Poland and China after the Battle of Vienna (1683). After defeating Turkey, John III Sobieski sent his portrait to the Emperor of China and also commissioned the Polish Jesuits stationed at the Emperor's court to provide the Polish King with all the valuable information about the organization of the Emperor's court and the Chinese Empire. This stemmed from the fact that the Polish King was deeply impressed by Chinese power and sought a strong ally. Seeking allies against Turkey, Sobieski sent an embassy to Beijing, to which the Emperor responded by sending gifts, including a valuable porcelain set, elements of which are preserved at the Łańcut Castle Museum. After the victory at Vienna in 1683, John III Sobieski was building an international anti-Turkish coalition. The embassy aimed to establish relations with China, which was also engaged in warfare at the time, potentially binding Russian forces (an ally of Turkey). Letters and gifts were sent to the court of Emperor Kangxi. Although the direct correspondence has not survived in its entirety, this gesture is considered the beginning of Polish-Chinese diplomacy.[7] The Chinese Emperor Kangxi honored the Polish king by sending him luxurious, high-quality porcelain. Many of these gifts became part of the collection at Łańcut Castle and constitute unique evidence of John III Sobieski's far-reaching diplomacy. Sobieski ran his own collection of Chinese art in his Wilanów palace.[8]
In the 1820s and 1830s, Polish physicianJózef Wojciechowski was active inBeijing, and became renown for successfully curing a prince from the imperial court deemed incurably ill by local doctors, for which he was honoured with a memorial in Beijing in 1829.[9]
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, when Poland remainedpartitioned and occupied by neighbouring powers, thousands of Polish emigrants, including engineers, architects, doctors, teachers, many of them political refugees, settled inManchuria and greatly contributed to the foundation and development of theChinese Eastern Railway and the city ofHarbin.[10] The founder and first mayor of Harbin was Polish engineer Adam Szydłowski.[11] The city's layout was planned by Polish engineer Stanisław Jokisz, and other Polish engineers were also responsible for its construction.[10] Poles established a prosperous and influential community in the city, with Polish press, schools, organizations, churches[11] (including the present-daySacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral) and sports teams, and peacefully co-existed with the city's other ethnicities including the Chinese.[10] Many Poles were employed at the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was managed at the time by Polish railway engineerStanisław Kierbedź.[10] Tadeusz Nowkuński was the head physician of the central hospital of the Chinese Eastern Railway, active in fighting theplague andcholera epidemics in Manchuria.[12] Poles introducedsugar beet cultivation to China and established the country's first brewery,[10] now known as theHarbin Brewery. Poles also established the firststeam mills, metallurgical plants, and furniture and cigarette factories in Manchuria.[10] Several Polish writers, includingTeodor Parnicki, Edward Kajdański[13] andKazimierz Grochowski, were either born or spent part of their childhood or adulthood in Harbin, before eventually moving to Poland, where they popularized knowledge about China andEast Asia.
In 1918 Poland regained independence after thepartitions period, and diplomatic relations between China and Poland began in 1919. A friendship, trade and navigation treaty between China and Poland was signed inNanjing in 1929 to strengthen and evolve the relations.[14]Ludwik Rajchman, a Polish physician andbacteriologist, was an advisor toChiang Kai-shek andT. V. Soong.[15] The Polish community in Harbin remained strong, until many Poles gradually left for Poland in the 1930s, and the remaining Poles were mostly repatriated by the Polish government in 1949.[10]
Very few Chinese people lived in Poland in theinterwar period, including four inWarsaw, and one each inCiechanów,Brześć andNieśwież, according to the 1921 Polish census.[16][17][18] DuringWorld War II, some 13 ethnic Chinese from Warsaw were deported by theGerman occupiers to theGross-Rosen concentration camp in 1944.[19]
During World War II, China and Poland were allies, with both the Chinese government and thePolish government-in-exile having signed theUnited Nations Declaration. Although Poland fought against Germany, and China fought against Japan, Poles were not indifferent to the struggles of the Chinese and saw similarities in their fates.[20] In 1941, Poland declared war on Japan (and China declared war on Germany), and a year later in 1942 during the stay of Marshal Chiang Kai-shek in Bombay, representatives of the Polish delegation as well as the Polish Relief Committee paid him a visit. The Poles presented Marshal Chiang Kai-shek with a memorandum in which they praised the heroism of the defenders of China and assured the Marshal that the Poles would fight alongside the Chinese until tyranny is crushed and freedom is restored to the nations that have lost it. Chiang Kai-shek was captivated by the struggle of the Poles and expressed his gratitude for the memorandum.[21]
Relations between thenewly founded People's Republic of China and thePolish People's Republic began on October 5, 1949, and diplomatic missions were established shortly after on October 7, 1949. Poland, a part of theCommunist Bloc, had friendly relations with China and both countries cooperated in international issues such as theKorean War.[2]
The bilateral relations deteriorated significantly as a result of theSino-Soviet split. However, when China called for the permanentUnited Nations Security Council seat, then held by the Taiwan-basedRepublic of China, to be transferred to the mainland government, Poland supported its case.[2]
Zhou Enlai, the Premier of China, paid two state visits to Poland. Polish communist leaders, includingBolesław Bierut,Edward Ochab andJózef Cyrankiewicz also made multiple visits to China.[1]
In 1957, fears in Poland grew of an armed intervention by the Soviet Union, the leadership of which was alarmed by the events of theGomułka thaw. The Chinese leadership opposed the plan of an intervention in Poland, believing Gomułka's reforms to be justified. China's protest weakenedNikita Khrushchev's stance on Poland and helped avert an armed confrontation. The support from China strengthened Gomułka's position in the Communist Bloc and reinforced his efforts to pursue more autonomy from the Soviet Union. China promoted the idea of a “national path to socialism,” which aligned with Gomułka’s reformist course and made it possible to move away from Stalinism without breaking away from the Communist Bloc altogether.[22]
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In 1989Communism in Europe fell, and Poland underwent widespread democratization and market-oriented economic reform. At this time, China was also becoming more market-driven, largely as a result of theeconomic reforms of Deng Xiaoping.[2] The newly formed Third Polish Republic chose to align itself with the West, joiningNATO in 1999, and theEuropean Union in 2004.[23] Despite this, relations between Poland and China remained steadfast throughout the 2000s.[2]
In 2016,general secretary of theChinese Communist Party,Xi Jinping visited Poland,[24][25] where he claimed that "Polish companies will benefit hugely" from China'sBelt and Road Initiative.[26] Duda and Xi signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership in which they reiterated that Poland and China viewed each other as long-term strategic partners.[27]
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In January 2019,Huawei employee Wang Weijing was arrested in Poland on charges ofspying for China.[28][29] In July 2024, thePeople's Liberation Army and theArmed Forces of Belarus conducted joint military exercises in theBrest Region a few kilometers from the Belarusian-Polish border.[30][31] The same month, Poland threatened to cut off a Chinese rail export route to the European Union via Poland in order to pressure Belarus.[32]
In June 2024, Poland supported tariffs on importedChinese electric vehicles. The Chinese government privately urged Chinese automakers to stop making large investments in European countries that supported tariffs. In November 2024, it was reported thatLeapmotor andStellantis had canceled plans to produce the B10 model in Poland and decided to move its production to Slovakia and Germany.[33]
In June 2025, Poland'sInternal Security Agency's Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT GOV) stated thatadvanced persistent threats from the PRC had expanded theircyberattacks against Poland's critical infrastructure.[34]
During the 1950s to 1990s, the two countries conducted economic activities using accounts on government agreements. Their annual trade valued nearly US$1 billion in 1986.[2]
In the 1990s, an agreement on trade payments in convertible foreign exchanges was signed. In 1990, trade dipped from US$0.322 billion to US$0.144 billion in 1991. Bilateral trade began to increase again in 1992.[2]
Trade between Poland and China increased significantly over the years. By 2001, the trade between the two countries was valued at US$1.242 billion, up 29.5% from 2000.[2]
The countries' economic relations revolve primarily aroundenvironmental protection, finance,agricultural technology, and the copper and coal industries.[35] It has also recently started to includehigh technology,clean energy, labour, services and infrastructure.[35][36]
In 2008, Poland's exports to China totaled approximately US$1 billion,[37] and its imports from China amounted to about US$11 billion.[37]
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