The International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (ILD, also known as the International Department) (simplified Chinese: 中国共产党中央对外联络部; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Duìwàiliánluòbù) is an agency under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in charge of conducting its foreign relations with other political parties.
The department was established in 1951, and was tasked with overseeing relations with foreign communist parties, especially the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc. The ILD's mandate became more important following the Sino-Soviet split, as the party began more aggressively seeking supporters for its position among communist parties operating overseas.[1] Afterwards it maintained ties between the CPC and the Maoist parties around the world, often attempting to foment revolution abroad by funneling money and resources to left-wing and rebel groups.[2][3] From 1962 through the first half Cultural Revolution, foreign relations were mainly conducted by Kang Sheng on behalf of the Politburo Standing Committee.[2]
In the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping, the ILD expanded its mission to include cultivating relations with non-communist parties, and shed its overtly revolutionary objectives. In this era, the department sought to forge ties with "any foreign political party that was willing to meet with it."[2] With the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, the ILD's expanded mission of engaging with parties across the political spectrum became more important.[1]
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