This resource, published in six parts, makes available the complete British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan from 1919-1980.

• 1919-1929: Kuomintang, CCP and the Third International
• 1930-1937: The Long March, civil war in China and the Manchurian Crisis
• 1938-1948: Open Door, Japanese war and the seeds of Communist victory
• 1949-1956: The Communist revolution
• 1957-1966: The Great Leap Forward
• 1967-1980: The Cultural Revolution.

The archival documents about China between 1919 and 1948 cover not only British experience of Chinas massive domestic issues, such as the conflict between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, but also the external relations of China with other countries (especially Britain and the British Indian Empire), including the Sino-Indian frontier issue, Tibet, Hong Kong and British business in Shanghai. The era from 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party won power, until Mao Zedong's death in 1976, is a colossally important period in modern Chinese history. Britain was one of very few western countries to maintain diplomatic relations with China and from 1950 onward, and from their vantage point in Beijing British diplomats reported on the turbulent and confusing political, social, and economic developments.

The quality and depth of the Foreign Offices reporting on politics, industry, trade and cultural affairs is second to none. The documents combine eyewitness accounts, weekly and monthly summaries, annual reviews, reports and analyses with a synthesis of newspaper articles and conference reports, economic assessments and synopses on leading Chinese personalities. There is a constant exchange of information between London and British diplomatic outposts in China and a continual dialogue on issues relating to East Asia between Britain and America as well as with European and Commonwealth partners. Sino-Soviet relations also become a very important consideration in the Cold War era.