In the light of these events, Beijing began to look at the US differently, as a counterbalance to Moscow’s militarism. Premier Zhou Enlai told a military conference on September 22: “The international situation is extremely tense. A fortnight later the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued new orders to the people to brace for armed conflict. In 1964 Mao was so concerned about attack from his northern neighbour that he ordered the movement of crucial industries inland to the mountains and high plateau of western China, as well as digging bunkers in cities for fear of bomb attacks.Īfter escalating military tensions between the two countries on Aughardliners in Moscow ordered a limited military attack on the border with Xinjiang. The background to the meeting was the deep-freeze in relations between former ‘red’ allies the Soviet Union and Communist China. “Nixon and Kissinger were surprised but delighted at the invitation,” Macmillan writes of what has become known as ‘ping-pong diplomacy’. More decisive was the personal decision by Mao on April 6, 1971, to invite the US table tennis team to China. Snow’s article took so long to find a publisher that it had little impact. “Taiwan was clearly an issue between the two of them, but what did it have to do with Nixon? Ten million people in Taiwan were nothing compared to the billion people of Asia,” Macmillan quotes Mao as telling Snow. He spoke of a potential Nixon visit to Snow, despite tensions around the status of Taiwan (which persist today, of course). Mao, for instance, was convinced he’d found the best back channel to American diplomatic circles through US journalist Edgar Snow, who he met up with in 1970. Macmillan’s book describes meticulously how Nixon’s visit to China had taken three years to arrange. This was the week that changed the world”. Or as Nixon himself said in a prophetic toast as he departed Shanghai: “We have been here a week. It was an earthquake in the Cold War landscape and meant that the Eastern bloc no longer stood firm against the West.” It was, after all, the first ever visit of an American president to China and an end to the long standoff where neither country had recognised the other. Both understood that their meeting, and, indeed, Nixon’s whole visit to China were important above all else for their symbolism. As Macmillan points out in her intro: “President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong were well aware that they were making history that day in 1972. We first mentioned this brilliantly readable history as far back as issue 12 of Week in China. Last week it was Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin issuing the communiqué, however, with a rebuke for NATO expansionism during Putin’s visit to the Beijing Winter Olympics.įor anyone looking for the definitive account of the 1972 summit, I wholeheartedly recommend Margaret Macmillan’s Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao. Indeed, the ‘great power’ triangulation that it triggered has seen a renewal of sorts today. That pretty much summed up the isolation of Maoist China at the time.Ī rich assortment of articles has been looking back at the significance of the 50th anniversary of this landmark event. As he told journalists prior to his departure: “A trip to China is like going to the Moon”. On FebruPresident Richard Nixon departed Washington for a seminal journey to China in which he met Mao Zedong. Tomorrow (February 17, 2022) marks a very significant half-century anniversary. To register for a complimentary subscription to Week in China use this personal invite from me. Here I share with my LinkedIn connections a selection of links to some of the best articles we've published in Week in China in our most recent edition, but also point out articles from other sources I've found of interest. As the Editor of Week in China I read a lot of articles about China. Trending Questions When did John Ringling become famous? How do you spell bager? Who was the secretary of defense sent to Vietnam on a fact finding mission? What did Andrew Jackson think of paper money? How many branches of arm force are there in th US? How did Jules Henri Poincare die? What is the correct spelling of Ghent Charts? Who else could be impeached and removed from office? What are two US states that are on opposite coasts? Is president in this sentence a direct object or an objective complement you elected him president? Where did Ulysses S.Welcome to the sixth edition of my weekly newsletter.
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