China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

Why would China jeopardize its relationship with the United States, the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, and much of Southeast Asia to sustain the Khmer Rouge and provide hundreds of millions of dollars to postwar Cambodia? Why would China invest so much in small states, such as those at the China-Africa Forum, that offer such small political, economic, and strategic return?

Some scholars assume pragmatic or material concerns drive China's foreign policy, while others believe the government wa...