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00047_Field_Art-WE7.TXT.txt
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1996-08-21
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Nixon in China
For more than 20 years, the PeopleΓÇÖs
Republic of China, communist ally of
Soviet Russia, had co-existed with
the United States in a state of open
hostility. This changed when a rift
developed between the two com-
munist giants, leading to clashes on
the Sino-Russian border in the late
1960ΓÇÖs. China realized it needed eco-
nomic, technological and political
assistance, and made a number of
ouvertures to its old foe.
In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team
was invited to compete in Beijing,
which led die-hard diplomats to scoff
at this new ΓÇ£ping-pong diplomacyΓÇ¥.
Later that year, Henry Kissinger,
head of the U.S. National Security
Council, travelled in secret to meet
the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou en
Lai. China made its demand for a
ΓÇ£rapprochementΓÇ¥ plain: acceptance
to the United Nations, where the
Chinese seat had been filled by the
Nationalist regime on the island of
Taiwan. The U.S. acquiesced, re-
ceiving Chinese leverage against the
U.S.S.R. in return.
On February 21, President Richard
Nixon made his historic visit, accom-
panied by his wife Pat, and met with
the Chinese leadership including
ailing Mao Zedong. The visit inaug-
urated a new relationship between
the two nations which, while
acknowledging deep political
differences, permitted the growth of
a range of economic ties and trade.
As of 1996, China retained ΓÇ£most-
favored nationΓÇ¥ status with the U.S.
Government despite repeated
Chinese crack-downs on native
dissidents.