The article provides a historical overview of the main stages in the development of Chinese science diplomacy as a special section of international scientific and technical cooperation and at the same time the country’s foreign policy. The author deals with the background and origins of the PRC science diplomacy. He identifies its key institutions and stakeholders, along with analyzing their role and functions. Special attention is paid to such an important aspect of the international relations of the Chinese state as interaction with the scientific diaspora. Based on the data obtained, their systematization and generalization, the author draws conclusions concerning the state of affairs in the field under study at the present stage.
science diplomacy; international scientific and tech-nical cooperation; scientific diaspora; PRC public diplomacy; brain cir-culation.