U.S.-China Policy During Nixon Presidency

U.S.-CHINA POLICY DURING THE NIXON PRESIDENCY (1969-1974)

This section discusses the transformation in American policy toward the PRC which occurred during the Nixon administration. It focuses not only on the complex and interrelated set of international and domestic events which led to a fundamental change in the American approach but also analyzes how and why it became possible for both countries to reorient their policies toward each other and bring about more stable Sino-American relations. The rapprochement between them proceeded in three distinct phases: (i) the opening to the PRC (1969-1970); (ii) near-normalization of relations (1971-1972); and (iii) partial consolidation of the new relationship (1973-1974).

Initial Overtures and the Reshaping of American Policy

Primary American and Chinese Concerns in 1969

When the Nixon administration came to power in January 1969, it faced a number of foreign and domestic policy challenges. It inherited from its predecessors a stalemated war in Vietnam, which together with the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin King, and the cultural, racial and social unrest of the 1960s, resulted in deep divisions in the body politic. American economic preeminence was threatened by the resurgence of Western European and Japanese industry, declining American productivity and international competitiveness and the growing weakness of the dollar. Geopolitically, American resources were spread thinly around the world. In the Middle

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ng to Isaacson (1992), Chou sent Washington a message which stated: "The Chinese Government reaffirms its willingness to receive publicly in Peking a special envoy of the President of the United States (for instance, Mr. Kissinger) or the U.S. Secretary of State or even the President of the U.S. himself for a direct meeting" (p. 339). On June 1, Ambrose (1989) says that Chou messaged that "Mao was looking forward to discussions with Nixon to settle in a concrete way 'the withdrawal of all the U.S. Armed Forces from Taiwan'" and that Kissinger was welcome to come to Peking "to make necessary arrangements for President Nixon's visit" (p. 450). Kissinger told Nixon: "this is the most important communication that has come to an American President since the end of World War II" (Ambrose, 1989, p. 451). On July 9, Kissinger's jet arrived secretly in Beijing via Pakistan. Regularization of Relations (1971-1972) Kissinger-Chou Discussions Kissinger and Chou met on July 9-11, 1971 and later in October 1971 to finalize the arrangements for Nixon's trip to Beijing which they scheduled for February 1972. What did they discuss in their 17 hours of talks in July? Ambrose (1989) says the content of their discussions "remains shrouded in

Category: Government - U