Constructivism as a framework in International Relations theory is useful in understanding inter-state relations, especially in gaining insights from regional historiography and the role of ideas or 'subjective understandings'; or even material artefacts (and meanings embedded in those) with respect to the relationships between States. This presentation attempts to discern the nature of the interaction between the city-states (of that period) viz. Kozhikode (present-day Calicut), Kollam (present-day Quilon) and Kochi (present-day Cochin) in Kerala and China. By doing so the attempt is to discern the formation of state preferences as a consequence of the iterated interaction across different dynasties in China that attempted maritime outreach towards these parts of southern India. The findings are important in cataloguing the diplomatic history of interaction between the two regions. The study also attempts to gather the material conditions of interaction between Kerala and China from locally available resources, primarily archival and literary sources (local historical Malayalam literary sources a​nd also comparing similar information from Chinese historical sources around the same period), specifically relating to China’s maritime outreach to Calicut, Kollam and Kochi from the 12 th to the mid-15 th century A.D.

Keywords: Maritime History, Medieval Kerala, China, Constructivism, Preference formation