| ||
|---|---|---|
U.S. Representative from California U.S. Senator from California 36th Vice President of the United States Post-vice presidency 37th President of the United States
Policies Tenure Post-presidency Presidential campaigns Vice presidential campaigns   | ||
From February 21 to 28, 1972,President of the United StatesRichard Nixon visitedBeijing, capital of thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) in the culmination ofhis administration's efforts to establish relations with the PRC after years of U.S. diplomatic policy that favored theRepublic of China in Taiwan.[1] His visit was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, with his arrival ending 23 years of no official diplomatic ties between the two countries. Nixon visited the PRC to gain more leverage over relations with theSoviet Union, following theSino-Soviet split. The normalization of ties culminated in 1979, when the U.S. transferred diplomatic recognition fromTaipei to Beijing andestablished full relations with the PRC.
When theChinese Communist Party gained power overmainland China in 1949 and theKuomintangretreated to theisland of Taiwan after thede facto end of theChinese Civil War, the United States continued to recognize theRepublic of China (ROC) as thesole government of China, now based out ofTaipei. Before hiselection as president in 1968, formerVice President Richard Nixon hinted at establishing a new relationship with the PRC. Early in his first term, Nixon, through hisNational Security AdviserHenry Kissinger, sent subtle overtures hinting at warmer relations to thegovernment of the PRC. After a series of these overtures by both countries, Kissinger flew on secret diplomatic missions toBeijing in 1971, where he met withChinese premierZhou Enlai. On July 15, 1971, the President announced on live television that he would visit the PRC the following year.[2]
The visit allowed the American public to view images of mainland China for the first time in over two decades. Throughout the week the President and his senior advisers engaged in substantive discussions with the PRC leadership, including a meeting with CCPchairmanMao Zedong, while First LadyPat Nixon toured schools, factories and hospitals in the cities of Beijing,Hangzhou andShanghai with the large American press corps in tow. Nixon dubbed his visit "the week that changed the world", a descriptor that continues to echo in the political lexicon. Repercussions of the Nixon visit continue to this day; near-immediate results included a significant shift in theCold War balance, driving an ideological wedge between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, resulting in significant Soviet concessions and itseventual fall.
The consequences of Nixon's trip to China continue to impact politics today. Writing on the 40th anniversary of the trip,Jeffrey Bader said that the basic bargain to put common interests ahead of ideology and values which both Nixon and Mao sought had been substantially held by both the Democratic and Republican parties.[3] Also, a "Nixon to China" moment has since become a metaphor to refer to the ability of a politician with an unassailable reputation among their supporters for representing and defending their values to take actions that would draw their criticism and even opposition if taken by someone without those credentials.[3]
Improved relations with the Soviet Union and the PRC are often cited as the most successful diplomatic achievements of Nixon's presidency.[4] AfterWorld War II, Americans saw relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorating, the Soviets consolidating communist allies over much ofEastern Europe, and the potential victory of CCP forces in theChinese Civil War.[citation needed] Many Americans were concerned that communists might dominate schools or labor unions.[5]
From the beginning of theSino-Soviet split in 1956, Chinese leadership looked for external allies to counterbalance the Soviet Union, while the U.S. wanted to gain leverage over the Soviet Union. Resolving theVietnam War was a particularly important factor.National Security Council staffer (and laterU.S. Ambassador to China)Winston Lord noted that, by flexibly dealing with both the Soviet Union and China, the United States sought to pressure both countries to reduce their support for North Vietnam in their new prioritization of relations with the United States.[6]
Richard Nixon earned a reputation as a strong anti-communist in the late 1940s and as vice-president toDwight Eisenhower, yet in 1972 he became the first U.S. president to visit mainland China while in office.[7]Ulysses S. Grant visited China on a world tour after leaving office,[8] and PresidentHerbert Hoover lived in China as a mining manager from 1899 to 1901,[9] and was somewhat proficient inMandarin.[citation needed] Eisenhower made a state visit to Taiwan in 1960, during the period when the United States recognized theRepublic of China government in Taipei as the sole government of China.[10]
In July 1971, President Nixon'sNational Security AdvisorHenry Kissinger secretly visited Beijing during a trip toPakistan, and laid the groundwork for Nixon's visit to China. This meeting was arranged and facilitated by Pakistan through its strong diplomatic channels with China.[11][12] Transcripts of White House meetings and once confidential documents show Nixon began working to open a channel of communication with Beijing from his first day in the White House.[13] For this ambitious goal to be reached President Nixon had carried out a series of carefully calibrated moves through Communist China's alliesRomania andPakistan.[14] This included offering support to Pakistan during the 1971Bangladesh Liberation War.[15][16]
Nixon announced on national television on 15 July, to the public's surprise, that he would visit China.[17][18]
President Nixon, his wife, and their entourage left the White House on February 17, 1972, spending a night atKaneohe Marine Corps Air Station inOahu,Hawaii. They arrived the next day inGuam at 5 pm, where they spent the night atNimitz Hill Annex, the residence of theCommander Naval Forces Marianas. At 7 am on February 21, the Nixons departed on a four-hour flight from Guam to Shanghai; after arrival, they then traveled to Beijing.[20]
From February 21 to 28, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon traveled to Beijing,Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Almost as soon as the American president arrived in the Chinese capital, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong beckoned him for a quick meeting. Kissinger and his assistantWinston Lord were also present. To avoid embarrassingSecretary of StateWilliam P. Rogers, Nixon requested to the Chinese for Lord to be cropped out of all the official photographs of the meeting.[21][19]
Unknown to Nixon and the rest of the American diplomats at the time, Mao was in poor health and he had been hospitalized for several weeks up to only nine days before Nixon's arrival. Nevertheless, Mao felt well enough to insist to his officials that he would meet with Nixon upon his arrival. Upon being introduced to Nixon for the first time, Mao, speaking through his translator, said to Nixon: "I believe our old friendChiang Kai-shek would not approve of this". Mao also joked that "I voted for you during yourlast election."[22] Nixon, charmed, said "you voted for the lesser of two evils," and Mao replied, "I likerightists... I am comparatively happy when these people on the right come into power."[23][24]
As an observer of the Mao–Nixon meeting, Lord noted Mao's peasant-like sensibilities and self-deprecating humor. Mao spoke simply and inelegantly, but clearly communicated approval of the visit and its diplomatic utility. Lord described Mao's purposeful and episodic language as a "very skillful performance."[6]
Nixon held many meetings with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during the trip, and made visits to theGreat Wall, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Nixon'sporcelain swans statue, a gift to Mao, was presented along the way in the gift-giving ceremony.[25]
Nixon concluded his visit on the morning of February 28, when he left China on a flight toAnchorage,Alaska.[26]
February 27 marked the joint issuing of theShanghai Communiqué, in which both nations pledged to work toward the full normalization of diplomatic policy and acknowledged longstanding differences over Taiwan. The statement allowed the U.S. and PRC to temporarily set aside the "crucial question obstructing the normalization of relations"[27] concerningits political status in order to open trade and other contacts. However, the U.S. continued to maintain official relations with the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan and did not break off until 1979, when the U.S.established full diplomatic relations with the PRC.
While in Shanghai, Nixon spoke about what this meant for the two countries in the future:
This was the week that changed the world, as what we have said in that Communique is not nearly as important as what we will do in the years ahead to build a bridge across 16,000 miles and 22 years of hostilities which have divided us in the past. And what we have said today is that we shall build that bridge.[28]
Within a year of Nixon's visit, a number of U.S. allies including Japan, Australia, and West Germany broke relations with Taiwan in order to establish diplomatic ties with China.[29]
Nixon and his aides carefully planned the trip to have the biggest possible impact on television audiences in the United States. The media coverage of the trip was overwhelmingly positive and presented Nixon communicating with Chinese government officials, attending dinners, and being accorded tours with other people of influence. Later interviews with correspondents who traveled with the President show how eager they were to be on the trip, which some labeled the most important summit meeting ever.[30]Max Frankel ofThe New York Times received thePulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his coverage of the event.[30]
The aftermath of theWatergate scandal later in 1972 led Nixon to deprioritize further diplomatic efforts with the PRC.[31] This resulted in putting off deliberations over the establishment of a hotline between DC and Beijing, which was first proposed during the visit to China and discussed between Kissinger and Zhou in November 1973 meetings.[32] TheBeijing-Washington hotline was later created in 2007.
In fall 1971, Vietnam Prime MinisterPhạm Văn Đồng had unsuccessfully asked Mao to cancel the planned Nixon visit.[33]: 93 The process of China and the United States improving their relationship was interpreted by Vietnamese leadership as a betrayal of theChina-Vietnam relationship and created tensions.[33]: 93
The visit inspiredJohn Adams' 1987 operaNixon in China. It was also the subject of a PBS documentary film,American Experience: Nixon's China Game.
Nixon's visit played a role in leading to the September 1972Japan–China Joint Communiqué.[34][35] In his discussion with Japanese PMKakuei Tanaka, Mao Zedong recounted, "I told Nixon, 'I voted for you when you ran for President. You still don't know.'" Mao said that he had no interest in Japan'sCommunist Party, and "also voted" for Kakuei Tanaka.[36]
Nixon's visit played a role in opening China to U.S. trade eventually putting downward pressure on U.S. inflation.[37]
As prospects of China-U.S. rapprochement improved following the visit, China's focus on itsThird Front campaign to develop basic and heavy industry in its rugged interior gradually declined.[38]: 4, 225–229 Rapprochement between the United States and China decreased the fear of invasion which, along with fears of Soviet invasion, had motivated the Third Front construction.[38]: 4 [39]: 180
In 1979, there was a statevisit by Deng Xiaoping to the United States from January to February, the first official visit to the U.S. by a senior leader of the P.R.C.[40]Deng met with then-sitting President Jimmy Carter and ex-President Nixon at a state dinner in the White House.[41][42]
General:
| |
| Presidency |
|
| Life and politics | |
| Books | |
| Elections | |
| Popular culture |
|
| Related | |
| Staff |
|
| Family |
|
| |||||
| History and politics |
| ||||
| Concepts | |||||
| Works |
| ||||
| Family |
| ||||
| Diplomatic posts |
|
|---|---|
| Diplomacy |
|
| Conflicts | |
| Incidents |
|
| Military relations | |
| Legislation |
|
| Economic relations | |
| Related |
|
| Diplomatic posts |
|
|---|---|
| Diplomacy | |
| Incidents | |
| Military relations | |
| Legislation | |
| Related | |
.jpg)
.jpg)
