![]() If China was on America's side, the Soviets would be off balance. The president leaned on the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The death toll was high, and the hugely unpopular Vietnam War was a big political problem for Nixon. The Soviets supported the North Vietnamese against the Americans fighting there. Nixon sees China as a way to put pressure on the Soviet Union amidst the ongoing Cold War.Īnd a hot flashpoint in the Cold War is Vietnam. He actually agreed with Nixon’s rationale for wanting to go to China. Kissinger’s deputy, Alexander Haig, remembers Kissinger saying of Nixon, “The man wants to open up relations with China? He must be crazy!”īut Kissinger had orders from the president, and he got to work on one of the most surprising and important diplomatic missions of the last century - a mission that is still playing out today.Īfter hearing Nixon's idea, Kissinger decided to get on board. ![]() Their leader Mao Zedong was a totalitarian, revolutionary, hardline Communist. The Chinese had a saying for America: running dogs of capitalism. Nixon ran his whole career as an anti-communist, and China was run by a strong Communist Party. ![]() He called his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, and told him that he had an urgent imperative: make friends with China. Richard Nixon was sitting in the Oval Office, just days after his inauguration, mulling over an idea he believed could cement his legacy as a great president. Facebook Email President Richard Nixon told his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, that he had an urgent imperative: make friends with China.
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