Visit Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China

1 visit

1.1 historical background
1.2 readiness
1.3 meeting mao
1.4 results

1.4.1 aftermath

visit
historical background

improved relations soviet union , prc cited successful diplomatic achievements of nixon s presidency. after world war ii, americans saw relations between united states , soviet union deteriorating, soviets consolidating communist allies on of eastern europe, , potential victory of communist forces in chinese civil war. american ruling class concerned communists might dominate schools or labor unions.

the reason opening china u.s. gain more leverage on relations soviet union. resolving vietnam war particularly important factor. national security council staffer (and later u.s. ambassador china) winston lord noted:

first, opening china give more flexibility on world scene generally. wouldn t dealing moscow. deal eastern europe, of course, , deal china, because former communist bloc no longer bloc. kissinger wanted more flexibility, generally. secondly, opening relations china catch russia s attention , more leverage on them through playing obvious, china card. idea improve relations moscow, hoping stir little bit of paranoia dealing china, never getting engaged china turn russia hostile enemy enough attention of russians. effort, in fact, worked dramatically after kissinger s secret trip china.

thirdly, kissinger , nixon wanted in resolving vietnam war. dealing russia , china hoped put pressure on hanoi negotiate seriously. @ maximum, tried russia , china slow down provision of aid north vietnam somewhat. more realistically , @ minimum, sought persuade russia , china encourage hanoi make deal united states , give hanoi sense of isolation because two, big patrons dealing us. indeed, willingness engage in summit meetings us, nixon going china in february, 1972, , moscow in may, 1972, russians , chinese beginning place higher priority on bilateral relations on dealings friends in hanoi.

one of main reasons richard nixon became 1952 vice-presidential candidate on eisenhower ticket strong anti-communist stance. despite this, in 1972 nixon became first u.s. president visit mainland china while in office. ulysses s. grant visited china on world tour after leaving office. herbert hoover lived in china briefly in 1899 before becoming president , speak mandarin. dwight eisenhower made state visit taiwan in 1960, during period when united states recognized republic of china government in taipei sole government of china.

air force 1 landing in beijing on february 21, 1972.

remember when landed @ beijing airport, maybe naively disappointed @ considered strained nature of chinese reception. had expected thousands of people in cheering crowds, after 22 years of hostilities. there small crowd, including chinese army honor guard. looking out window @ welcoming ceremony, thought gray day, too. didn’t monumental event, ought have been. - winston lord


readiness

in july 1971, president nixon s national security advisor henry kissinger secretly visited beijing during trip pakistan, , laid groundwork nixon s visit china. transcripts of white house meetings , once confidential documents show nixon began working open channel of communication beijing first day in white house.

pat nixon in people s republic of china.


meeting mao

from february 21 28, 1972, u.s. president richard nixon traveled beijing, hangzhou, , shanghai. american president arrived in chinese capital, chairman mao summoned him quick meeting. secretary of state william p. rogers excluded meeting , other american present besides kissinger kissinger s assistant winston lord. avoid embarrassing rogers, lord cropped out of official photographs of meeting.

they figured humiliating enough national security adviser president @ historic meeting, secretary of state not. add on top of fact special assistant national security adviser there third person secretary of state not much, them. chinese must have been puzzled this, readily went along request.

although nixon in china week, meeting top chinese leader.

unknown nixon , rest of american diplomats @ time, mao in poor health , had been hospitalized several weeks 9 days before nixon s arrival. nevertheless, mao felt enough insist officials meet nixon upon arrival. upon being introduced nixon first time, mao, speaking through translator, said nixon: believe our old friend chiang kai-shek not approve of .

as observer of mao-nixon meeting, lord noted:

the meeting lasted hour. remember distinctly, coming out of meeting disappointed. impressed physical impact of mao. clear man tough, ruthless, , came peasant background, in contrast elegant, mandarin quality of zhou enlai. however, thought conversation episodic , not full. kissinger had sort of same reaction did. mao speaking, did, in simple brush strokes, whereas used formal, elegant , lengthy presentations of zhou enlai. mao throw in few sentences; few brush strokes. went topic topic in rather casual way.

...however, thought it, , end of trip, realized in fact mao had put in skillful performance. in understated , unorthodox way had set forth main lines of chinese policy, had made clear features considered important, , other things fall place. mao self-deprecating, though had tremendous ego. had humor. had gotten through agenda purposefully, though seemed casual , episodic. had managed cover main points. still don t think 1 of great conversations of time. however, think mao more purposeful , skillful gave him credit @ first.

nixon held many meetings chinese premier zhou enlai during trip, included visits great wall, hangzhou, , shanghai. nixon s porcelain swans statue, gift mao, presented along way in gift-giving ceremony. @ conclusion of trip, united states , prc governments issued shanghai communiqué, statement of foreign policy views , document has remained basis of sino-american bilateral relations. kissinger stated u.s. intended pull forces out of island of taiwan. in communiqué, both nations pledged work toward full normalization of diplomatic policy.

richard nixon , zhou enlai speaking @ banquet.


results

the chinese agreed peaceful settlement of taiwan question. statement enabled u.s. , prc temporarily set aside crucial question obstructing normalization of relations concerning political status of taiwan , open trade , other contacts. however, u.s. continued maintain official relations government of republic of china in taiwan, , did not break off until 1979, when u.s. established full diplomatic relations prc.

while in shanghai, nixon spoke meant 2 countries in future:

this week changed world, have said in communique not important in years ahead build bridge across 16,000 miles , 22 years of hostilities have divided in past. , have said today shall build bridge.

nixon , aides planned trip have biggest possible impact on television audiences in united states. media coverage of trip overwhelmingly positive. later interviews correspondents traveled president show how eager on trip, labeled important summit meeting ever.

richard nixon wrote many books international contributions , accomplishments. beyond peace last of post-career volumes, addressing need united states in world transformed collapse of communist bloc.

aftermath

nixon’s trip china well-planned, virtually choreographed. every move rehearsed. media played vital role in assuring americans home able see nixon communicating chinese government officials; attending dinners; , being accorded tours other people of influence. nixon played role of international statesman. americans paused , observed , garnered respect quaker pennsylvania. because of this, visually televised confirmation citizens receiving on daily national news, presidential approval ratings rose 56 percent. https://ropercenter-cornell-edu.proxygw.wrlc.org/cfide/cf/action/ipoll/questiondetail.cfm?

max frankel of new york times received pulitzer prize international reporting coverage of event. frankel among interviewed in assignment: china segment nixon trip.

the visit inspired john adams 1987 opera nixon in china. subject of pbs documentary film, american experience: nixon s china game.