That conflict gave Nixon the opportunity to begin his China game, by making a move toward the Chinese to increase his leverage against the Russians, and maintain relations with the Russians as leverage against the Chinese. In March 1969, a border dispute between China and the Soviet Union came close to sparking full-scale war. Nixon received intelligence that there was a growing split between the Russians and the Chinese, which he intended to use as a lever. And he worried that China - the most populous nation on earth - was living in "angry isolation." In Nixon's inaugural address, he said, "The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker. In the increasingly dangerous atmosphere of the Cold War, Nixon wanted to bring the Soviet Union to the bargaining table. However, by the time he became president in January 1969, Nixon's thinking had changed. There was somebody at a control panel in Moscow who pressed buttons, and communists all over the world responded. The dogma, especially among such right-wing Republicans as Nixon, was that communism was a monolith. Since the 1950s, Richard Nixon had been a staunch anti-communist. China was not recognized as a sovereign nation until after World War II. That policy proposed to ensure all nations equal trading privileges in China and to protect Chinese sovereignty (but it did just the opposite). The U.S., an important power in the Pacific as a consequence of its 1898 victory in the Spanish-American War, attempted to prevent that division with the formulation, in 18, of what would be known as The Open Door Policy. After Japan attempted to invade China in 1894-1895, imperialist and impenitent European powers, Russia, France, Germany, and Great Britain sought to protect their interests in China by carving the nation into spheres of influence. The United States began to take an active interest in establishing political and economic ties with China in the 19th century. Nixon, ardent Cold War warrior, secretly initiated the beginning of the end of the Cold War, but he couldn't have done it without playing the Chinese off against the Soviets and without the cooperation of communist Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou En Lai. Under the shroud of Cold War politics, President Richard M. The story of Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China was fraught with secrecy, intrigue and deft maneuvering by both leaders. Were the description above not further illuminated, the enlightened initiative, boldness and courage displayed by two of the most important world leaders of the 20th century could not be appreciated. Step by delicate step, the events led up to what Nixon called "The week that changed the world." The meetings were regarded then, and today, as a historic rapprochement between the U.S. Although the transcripts of the talks were highly classified at the time, they were released to the public in 1999. They established clear understandings on where they stood with regard to the territorial acquisitions of mainland China, and their mutual wariness of the Soviet threat. President Nixon met with his hosts at the Great Hall of the People, where the talks would range from 40 minutes to four hours.ĭuring the meetings, they tried to establish goals for what the two nations would like to accomplish together. It was customary at the time to quickly get important figures to their meetings so that nothing could interfere with diplomatic proceedings. Nixon was informed that he would be at his first meeting with Premier Zhou En Lai in just three hours. He was greeted only by occupants of an unmarked vehicle and no crowd. Nixon arrived in Beijing, China, in the Spirit of '76, the presidential jet. On Monday, February 21, 1972, President Richard M.
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