On February 11, 1972, Nixon stepped off the plane briskly and extended his hand to the *** who greeted him. With the two hands tightly clasped together, Sino-US relations began to gradually ease.
After Nixon came to China, he personally went to greet him, which shows the importance that China and the United States attach to this matter, and Nixon was placed in the state guesthouse at that time. Nixon was full of praise for the special things housed in the National Arsenal, and suddenly he saw a sticker on the wall that read "Down with American imperialism."
Nixon did not know Chinese characters, but he saw that the content of the sticker was that the Chinese were pointing guns at Westerners, so he asked the translator to translate the content of the sticker to him, and the translator could not help but translate, and was afraid that this would ruin the meeting.
After some hesitation, the translator had to bite the bullet and translate the original content to Nixon, who sank his face and did not say anything. Later, after seeing ***, he mentioned the matter, and ** smiled easily and said three words, which made Nixon laugh and skillfully defused the incident.
So, what are the three words that ** said?Let's take a look at this legendary history!
Nixon paid an official visit to China
For a long time after the founding of New China, due to the United States' stubborn support for the people, Sino-US relations were in a very tense state, and after the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and Vietnam, the relationship between the two was close to freezing, and at this time China had a close relationship with the Soviet Union.
In the 50s of the 20th century, the Soviet Union gradually exposed the essence of hegemony, and Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated rapidly. After the defense of Zhenbao Island, China and the Soviet Union even began to show troops on the border, and the two sides were tense. The United States believed that this was a good time to win over China and confront the Soviet Union, so it lifted the blockade against China and frequently made overtures to China.
And *** also believed that in terms of China's national strength at that time, it was very disadvantageous to be the enemy of the two major powers in the world at the same time, so he invited the American table tennis team to visit China and promote the big ball with a small ball, which is the famous table tennis diplomacy.
On February 11, 1972, Nixon saw ***, who had been waiting at the airport for a long time, walk off the plane briskly and held ***'s hand tightly.
Considering the importance of Nixon's visit to China, China increased the number of honor guards of the three services to 371 people. The members of the honor guard of the three services were dressed in new uniforms, majestic and majestic, and the soldiers were neatly aligned and strong during the parade, fully demonstrating the heroic and refreshing spirit of the soldiers of our country.
Nixon was shocked when he saw it, and praised it on the spot, and later wrote in his autobiography:"This guard of honor in China is one of the best I have ever seen!”。
Nixon was fascinated by the facilities that contained the mysteries of the ancient Orient, and he stopped from time to time to observe and praise them. Suddenly, he saw a sticker hanging on the wall with the slogan "Down with US imperialism".
Although Nixon could not read Chinese, he saw the sticker drawing Chinese people holding guns and pointing at Westerners, and he was very curious to ask the accompanying interpreter, the interpreter was in a dilemma, if he dared to do what he did not dare to say, it would be a little too cowardly, but what he said was afraid of affecting the outcome of the meeting.
After struggling for a long time, the interpreter still stubbornly explained the contents of the sticker to Nixon, and Nixon sank his face for a moment after listening to it, but did not say anything.
Meeting with Nixon
More than an hour after lunch, **called Nixon**, saying that *** wanted to see Nixon**. Nixon was very surprised, ** was not in good health at this time, and being able to meet him that day showed the Chinese side had sufficient respect for him.
Nixon hurried to Zhongnanhai,** and after seeing Nixon, he shook hands tightly with him for a minute. Nixon said with great emotion"The United States wants to unite with China to influence the world!”But *** waved his hand, pointed to the *** next to him and said:"You talk to *** about this matter, we will only talk about philosophy today. ”
Nixon himself was a staunch fighter, but as he talked to him deeply, he gradually changed his views on China and communism. The meeting, which was supposed to last fifteen minutes, lasted more than seventy minutes.
Nixon finally had a chance to speak, and he asked, "Mr. President, what are you best at?"* smiled and said:"What I'm best at is serving people!”
After listening to this, Nixon really understood why the Communist Party was able to defeat the Kuomintang, and with such leaders and collectives serving the country and the people, their victory was inevitable. Out of respect, he stood up and bowed deeply towards ***.
In the ensuing conversation, Nixon still mentioned the propaganda slogan he saw, and said three words with a smile:"Empty cannon".。Nixon was puzzled, and he looked at *** suspiciously
Seeing this, he helped explain: ".We are always shouting slogans against US imperialism, don't you also shout every day to eliminate the Communist Party, do you see who is still fighting whom?This is called an empty cannon. ”
Nixon laughed after listening to it, nodded his head again and again, and expressed his approval, and this little episode was cleverly resolved by ***.
State banquet welcome
After the end of the meeting with ***, *** invited the Nixons to the state banquet that night, and on the dishes of the state banquet, ** insisted on adding a dish made of fish tail, which controls the direction of the fish swimming, implying that Sino-US relations are moving towards a new era.
At the banquet, ** used Moutai liquor stored for more than 30 years to entertain Nixon, Kissinger and others, **gently shook the wine glass, looked at the mellow wine swaying in the glass, and introduced Nixon with nostalgia:
"This is the well-known Moutai at home and abroad, in the Long March, Moutai is our medicine for all diseases, it can relieve pain for soldiers, disinfect, and ...... cold”
Nixon raised his glass and said, "Then let's toast with this 'panacea'!"”。The two raised their wine glasses and toasted with Moutai with a smile on their faces and were photographed by reporters, making the world remember this scene.
At the banquet, after learning that the fish tail was specially prepared, the Nixons did not hold a knife and fork like other foreign guests, but took out the chopsticks that they Xi had practiced for more than five months, and ate the dish cleanly.
Mrs. Nixon was very interested in the panda brand cigarettes placed in front of everyone, and she was very fond of the pandas painted above, and when she saw this, she promised to give a pair of giant pandas to the United States, and the two sides were very happy and happy in this state banquet.
In the days that followed, the Nixons visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and other Chinese buildings, and Nixon showed a high degree of interest in this ancient and mysterious country, and carefully observed every scenic spot, for which Nixon was full of praise.
As the first American to visit China, Nixon brought a generous gift: he presented an Alaskan musk ox with American characteristics, and a porcelain swan of Edward, a "master porcelain burner", to express his wish for peace and friendship between China and the United States.
In addition to these meaningful gifts, Nixon** also gave a very generous gift list, that is, the "Awa Maru", in April 1945, the U.S. military accidentally destroyed the Japanese Apo Maru**, which has *** diamonds and other items, equivalent to 5 billion US dollars.
On February 28, 1972, Nixon arrived at his last stop in China, Shanghai. After repeated consultations over the past few days, the "Joint Communique" was issued in Shanghai.
The statement stressed that the two sides should proceed from the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and announced the normalization of China-US relations. On the Taiwan issue, the two sides unanimously adopted the one-China viewpoint, and the US side recognized Taiwan Province as a part of China.
After the issuance of this "Sino-US Joint Communique," Sino-US relations have been normalized, laying a solid foundation for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, paving the way for China to establish diplomatic relations with other developed countries, and creating a good environment for reform and opening up.
Nixon's visit to China has been called "a week that changed the world," and although Nixon was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal, the historical significance of his visit to China was enormous.
Nixon visits China again
After Nixon's dismissal, the newly appointed Ford is also promoting the normalization of Sino-US relations, but it is much slower than Nixon. China extended another invitation to the Nixons, and the Nixons readily agreed.
On February 21, 1976, Nixon visited China again on a special plane sent from China to the United States. We are preparing a state dinner for him again, and the specifications are exactly the same as they were four years ago. The day after the banquet, Nixon couldn't wait to pay a visit to ***
In his memoirs, Nixon said: "Although he was 82 years old, his mind was still agile and his words were still philosophical. The two had a conversation for nearly two hours, and they still have a deep understanding of the international situation.
At the time of separation, Nixon specially gave *** a porcelain panda, and ** bid Nixon farewell with the support of his entourage.
On September 9, 1976, Nixon burst into tears when he learned of his death, and delivered a eulogy. In the Nixon Library, there are ten statues of the world that Nixon admires the most, and the front one is wearing a Mao suit and sitting on the sofa and talking loudly
His invitation to Nixon's second visit to China put Ford under pressure and lost to Carter, who was more friendly to China, and on January 1, 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations.
His farsightedness and wisdom are worthy of our profound study, and his outstanding contributions to Xi the world, China, the party, and the people will always be remembered by the sons and daughters of China!
History, Historical Review, Historical Trivia