1971 Kissinger's visit to China broke the decades of unexchange between China and the United States in the last century. The relationship between the two countries began to develop in the direction of normalization, and it also had a very important impact on the world pattern.
Although promoting Sino-US relations was the idea of the then US President Nixon , as the actual promoter of Sino-US relations, Kissinger is indeed a very special existence for our country.
Before Kissinger visited China, there were still many twists and turns. Nixon even reminded him not to be too enthusiastic about Premier Zhou.
At that time, the breaking of Sino-US relations was already imperative, and friendly exchanges were indispensable. Why did Nixon remind Kissinger like this?
State-stalemate in Sino-US relations
The first reason is that China and the United States have previously confronted each other for decades.
Since the founding of New China, the Western capitalist country led by the United States has been full of hostility towards our country, the new regime.
In 1950, my country was only one year after its establishment, and the country was in decay. Chairman Mao worked hard for the development of the country, but the United States actually launched an attack on North Korea and once crossed the border, burning the war to the northeast of my country, posing a serious threat to the lives and safety of our people.
They believe that although China's land area is vast, it is just a newly established country. It does not even have the ability to produce independently in industry. What capital can it compete with the powerful United States?
However, Chairman Mao ordered to mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteer troops to enter North Korea and launched a fierce battle with the " United Nations Army ".
2 years of continuous battle not only pushed the dispute between China and the United States to the forefront of international public opinion, but also brought the relationship between the two countries to a freezing point. The people of our country were extremely disgusted with the US hegemony and behavior. In order to support North Korea in fighting the United States, a nationalization movement even broke out in the country at that time. Every household had money and made great efforts, and coordinated the war of resource support in almost the whole country, and finally won the victory of this war.
The United States relied on its strength, but in the end it had to stop and withdrew from North Korea's territory in a mess. Since then, this war has become a secret thing for the Americans who participated in the war at that time.
After the war ended, the two countries began a situation where they did not interact for decades.
However, although the two countries do not interact on the surface, the United States has never stopped secretly.
They joined forces with some capitalist countries to start banning and political isolation of our country, trying to kill our party's regime before our country has developed.
At that time, my country applied to United Nations , hoping to restore China's legal seat in the United Nations, but because the United States did not recognize our country's regime, this matter failed.
Faced with the exclusion of the international community at that time, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou adjusted their strategies in time and finally came up with a new development route under the blockade of the United States.
In fact, at that time, Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao had already expected that the United States would never allow China to restore its legal seat in the United Nations so easily. After all, at this time, Chiang Kai-shek was unstoppable. The United States also wanted to get involved in the Taiwan issue and take advantage of the issue.
So this application is just to make more countries pay attention to China, so that our country has more right to speak out internationally. After the 1960s, the world situation gradually stabilized, but under the calm appearance, unforeseen risks lurked.
The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union is becoming increasingly tense, and the situation of the two-level Cold War has also begun to become increasingly tense. The United States and the Soviet Union have even begun to extend their hands to other countries. As long as countries that are not in their own camps, they will all be regarded as "differences" and suppress them.
In the continuous open and secret struggle between the two countries, the United States began to gradually fall into a disadvantage, which made the American leaders panic. They began to try to achieve their goal of fighting for hegemony with the Soviet Union in different ways.
At this time, the United States focused almost all its energy on the development of the United States and responded to the Soviet Union, and relaxed its vigilance against China. After all, there was a stronger enemy in front of him.
And our country has seized this opportunity and launched a series of campaigns, and all walks of life have begun to make suggestions for the development of the motherland.
During this period, my country had basically made great progress in terms of industrial level and agricultural production, but it was still very difficult to fight against the powerful United States. This was also a fact that our country had to admit at that time.
htmlIn the 1960s, China once again applied to the United Nations to return to the United Nations, but this time it still failed.At the same time, as the relationship between my country and the Soviet Union took a sharp decline, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou had to spend more energy to re-plan a way out for the development of the country.
Fortunately, with the joint efforts of everyone, the changes in relations with the Soviet Union did not affect our country's development too much. After experiencing the natural disaster and the blockade of the United States, our country's development has also gradually become formal.
The most important thing is that with the unremitting efforts of Deng Jiaxian and others, our country finally has its own nuclear weapon . Chairman Mao once said: " Although we are not afraid of atomic bomb , we must have this thing! "
Only with this "big firecracker" can our country completely get rid of the nuclear threat from Western countries and the Soviet Union and embark on the road to a strong country and strong military.
When the first mushroom cloud in my country was rising over the Gobi Desert, there was no doubt that the whole world was sensational. Although the United States still had a very stiff relationship with my country, at least it still restrained a lot on the surface.
has a turning point, is Sino-US relations breaking the ice?
As my country's strength gradually becomes stronger and its international status is increasing, even the previously sensational Taiwan issue gradually faded at this time, and the United States began to gradually restrain its edge against our country and temporarily suspended its policies against our country.
The United States' disadvantage in the battle for hegemony with the Soviet Union became increasingly obvious. They began to gradually turn their attention to our country. The so-called enemy of the enemy is friends. At present, the relationship between our country and the Soviet Union has reached a freezing point. Perhaps there is still a possibility of cooperation between the two countries.
It was only when Lyndon Baines Johnson was in office that he did not seek cooperation with our country. It was not until 1969 when Nixon became the president of the United States that the attitude and policies of the United States began to change.
After Nixon took office, the first thing he changed was his anti-China policy against China. Whether it was out of hope to be kept in history or because of the disadvantage of , the United States and the Soviet Union were at a disadvantage in the battle for hegemony at that time, such practices have indeed eased the relationship between China and the United States.
After comprehensively comparing the pros and cons of interacting with China, he began to formally let his confidant Kissinger handle China's affairs and lay the foundation for his future visit to China.
Nixon was originally applying for interaction to China for tactful and decent. After all, what the United States did to target China before was also well known. If the timing is not well grasped, it is easy to further deteriorate the relationship between the two countries.
But the Battle of Zhenbao Island that broke out soon after provided a good opportunity for the United States. Nixon asked the president of Romanian to act as an intermediary and conveyed his willingness to our country to develop friendly and establish connections.
. Chairman Mao, who received the news from Nixon, was also a little shocked by this, but his eyes were even longer after all, and he seemed to have expected this day.
After discussing with Premier Zhou, he decided to agree to Nixon's request to improve the relationship between China and the United States. After all, for China at that time, the advantages brought by improving relations with the United States were far greater than "fighting alone."
Soon, the United States arranged a "secret messenger" to prepare to visit China, conveying goodwill to China while acting as a bridge of communication between China and the United States.
And this person is US Secretary of State Kissinger who has taken over China affairs before.
1971, after careful arrangements, Kissinger officially started his visit to China on a special plane.
Although Kissinger's visit to China was conducted secretly, and the announcement of White House to the outside world was also Kissinger went to Pakistan and Thailand for a visit and went to Vietnam for a mission, many people with keen sense of "smell" still perceived some subtle changes.
After Kissinger arrived in China, Premier Zhou sent someone to express his grand welcome to his arrival. When Prime Minister Zhou and Kissinger held hands together, the relationship between China and the United States took a big step closer.
In the face of the visit of the US envoy, Premier Zhou was very frank. He was very clear about the current situation between China and the United States, and also pointed out the pain points that need to be improved between the two countries. Kissinger was deeply impressed by Premier Zhou's temperament as a diplomat.
But before going to the United States, a sentence Nixon once told him made him feel a little embarrassed. Nixon once said to him: " After you arrive in China, don't be too enthusiastic about Zhou Enlai. "
Someone may be confused by Nixon's words. Why do you obviously want to make good friends with China but can't show too much enthusiasm for Premier Zhou?
In fact, this is because Nixon hopes that Kissinger can control his own emotions, put the interests of the United States before his personal emotions, and ensuring the development of the country was their top priority at the time.
Before he visited China, he was still a little twisted. After all, the United States was almost full of prejudice against China before, so how could he "stay alone" in such an environment?
So he hopes that Kissinger can try his best to maintain his style as a superpower and prevent China from seeing their panic. He also hopes that he can gain the upper hand in his interactions with China.
This sentence is a warning to Kissinger and also a warning to himself. Therefore, during his visit to China, Kissinger rarely participated in activities other than affairs in addition to performing official duties normally.
And Premier Zhou naturally adheres to the style of being a leader of a big country. While ensuring Kissinger's daily life, he tries to improve relations with the United States and safeguard China's interests.
Kissinger is one of the few leaders in the past few decades who can respect China and uphold a sincere attitude towards China. Therefore, Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao also appreciate Kissinger's character very much.
After Kissinger's visit to China this time, the relationship between China and the United States was further improved. Nixon realized earlier than others the importance of being in good relations with China to the development of the United States, so he made up his mind again to go to China in person and let the whole world see the historic development of China and the United States with his own practical actions.
1972, after a long period of preparation, Nixon finally embarked on the road to visit China. This time he did not conceal his itinerary from the outside world. In the airport in China, photographers could take pictures of the moment when he shook hands with Premier Zhou without any worries, while his wife and other staff stood behind Nixon very departed, so that the photographers could record this historic moment.
This time Nixon visited China with full sincerity. Under the arrangement of Premier Zhou, Nixon visited the streets and some landmark buildings in Beijing, learned how much effort the Chinese people have made for the development of their motherland, and specially prepared state banquets and common foods from China and the United States for him to ensure that the American missions can get used to life in China.
Chairman Mao even asked to meet Nixon in person, dragging his sick body.
The two of them had a great time in the office of Zhongnanhai . Nixon's visit made Chairman Mao, who was sick in bed for a long time, look better.
They had a pleasant conversation about the situation between China and the United States. This time, Nixon no longer held that arrogant air. He showed great respect to Chairman Mao, and at the same time understood why such an old man could lead China out of all kinds of hardships.
After this visit to China, the relationship between China and the United States immediately entered a "honeymoon period". Although a formal diplomatic relationship has not been established yet, the warming relationship still has a profound impact on the world pattern.
China has opened up a new situation in diplomacy. The national economy has developed rapidly and its international position is becoming increasingly important. This is all thanks to the far-sighted decision made by Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou.
No matter what purpose Kissinger visited China, his visit has indeed promoted the relationship between China and the United States. In terms of interests, his appearance has indeed brought a turning point for our country. Therefore, after weighing the two sides, both sides have made the right choice at the right time.
The game between major powers has always been like this.
