The Penetration of Italian Fascism in Nationalist China: Political Influence and Economic Legacy

During the interwar period, the Italian fascist and the Chinese nationalist governments established an unprecedented political and economic collaboration. Delegations of politicians, entrepreneurs and scholars travelled to opposite sides of the world to strengthen that relationship at a time when China greatly needed to structure internal economic reforms and obtain international financial and political support, while Italy was in search of political allies in order to avoid international isolation and identify new markets for its own industries. The strong bond between the two countries collapsed with the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, during which they supported opposing sides. This research relies almost entirely on primary sources - documents, memoirs, correspondence and reports consulted at the historical archives of Banca d'Italia, UniCredit Banking Group and the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs - to propose a comprehensive overview of that unprecedented experience.