structural:reformatting, stylistic:tone, linguistic:translation, quality:correction
Foreign relations

The functions of China's embassies abroad were disrupted during the early part of the Cultural Revolution. In a March 22, 1969 meeting on the Sino-Soviet border clashes, Mao stated that in foreign relations, China was "now isolated" and "we need to relax a little". Later that year, China began to restore its embassies to normal functioning.

China exported communist revolutions as well as communist ideologies to multiple countries in Southeast Asia, supporting parties in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and in particular, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia (responsible for the Cambodian genocide). It is estimated that at least 90% of the Khmer Rouge's foreign aid came from China. In 1975 alone at least US$1 billion in interest-free economic and military aid and US$20 million came from China. China's economic malaise impacted China's ability to assist North Vietnam in its war against South Vietnam by the 1970s, which cooled relations between the once allied nations.

Among the over 40 countries that had established diplomatic or diplomatic half-relations with China at the time, around 30 countries went into diplomatic disputes with China—some countries terminated their diplomatic relations, including Central Africa, Ghana and Indonesia.