Peaceful Evolution theory

The Peaceful Evolution theory or Peaceful Evolution (Chinese: 和平演變; Chinese: 和平演变; pinyin: Hépíng yǎnbiàn; Vietnamese: Diễn biến hòa bình; lit. 'Peaceful happenings' or 'Peaceful transformation') in international political thought refers to a theory of effecting political transformation of the Chinese and Vietnamese socialist systems by peaceful means. The transformation was allegedly encouraged by the United States.

The phrase was formulated by US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles during the Cold War in the 1950s chiefly in the context of the Soviet Union, but has not subsequently featured in official discussions of US policy in China. Chinese analyses of US foreign policy, however, hold that it has constituted part of the theoretical foundation for US relations with the People's Republic of China since then.

According to the thesis, the United States maintains a strategy to infiltrate and subvert socialist countries, notably China, by spreading Western political ideas and lifestyles, inciting discontent, and encouraging groups to challenge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) leadership. According to Chinese readings of the US policy, such efforts are intended to cause socialist systems to be transformed from within.

The CCP has resisted the idea of Peaceful Evolution when the idea was first raised in the Mao era. The CCP sees such a process as "the biggest threat to its continuous rule."

Successive generations of CCP leaders have criticized the Peaceful Evolution theory, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Hu Jintao, and Jiang Zemin. The theory is not currently part of official US policy approach to China, but Chinese military strategists consider it a cause of ongoing concern, as presented in the film Silent Contest.