In 1972, Nixon's visit to China had a profound impact on Sino-American relations, marking the normalization of relations between the two countries. However, in 1976, Nixon was invited to visit China again and was received by ***. During this meeting, Nixon posed a question to ***: "What are your specialties?"”。And how does *** answer?On August 9, 1974, the Watergate scandal caused Nixon to face ** and had to resign from his position.
However, surprisingly, he received a message of condolence from the Chinese premier. ** In a telegram inviting Nixon to visit China again. Although it was the norm for people to go to tea and cool up, Nixon was still happy with the invitation of the Chinese leader. However, his invitation was denied. In contrast, Ford preferred to develop relations with the Soviet Union, and even hugged Brezhnev tightly, but did not visit China in his first year in office. If Nixon's former ** identity visits China before Ford, the new ** will face embarrassment.
Although Nixon, a former Ford old partner, reluctantly agreed to wait for Kissinger to visit China for some time, he also said "I won't wait too long." Under Kissinger's mediation, China extended an invitation to Ford to visit. However, Ford's visit did not make progress, and even demanded that China "commit to a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue", and the two sides talked very unpleasantly.
Because of this, as soon as Ford returned to China, China** invited Nixon's daughter and son-in-law to visit China, and through them, invited Nixon's wife to visit again. It's the same old days. This time, Ford and Kissinger could no longer stop it. On February 6, 1976, Xinhua News Agency issued an announcement: On February 21, 1976, the People's Republic of China** invited Mr. and Mrs. Nixon to visit China again, which coincided with the fourth anniversary of Nixon's first visit to China.
The Nixons were delighted at the invitation. On the same day, China** sent a newly purchased Boeing 707 special plane (the same model as Air Force 1) to the United States to pick up Nixon to Beijing. Nixon was very surprised by such a reception.
What was even more unexpected was that after arriving in Beijing at 10:16 that night, dozens of senior ** greeted them at the airport, including Acting Prime Minister *** and *** Chang Qiao Guanhua!Nixon deeply felt how earnest it was to be an "old friend of the Chinese people" to receive such an honor. Due to the tight schedule, the welcome ceremony was a little shorter than it was four years ago, but otherwise they were still accommodated at Guesthouse 18 as they were last time.
China** also held a state banquet for them in the Great Hall of the People, and the decoration, etiquette, and even the dishes at the state banquet were exactly the same as four years ago. As the saying goes, "Vote for me with papaya, and repay it with Qiongju". Toward the end of the state dinner, Nixon spoke: "The future of the peoples of the world depends on the joint efforts of our two countries for the security and stability of the nations of the world and for the cause of peace for mankind." Such cooperation must be credible, viable and religious.
Of course, it would be naïve to think that the mere signing of a declaration of principle or the convening of a diplomatic conference would bring about lasting peace. The "declaration of principle" referred to here is the Shanghai Communiqué issued in 1972, and although it only mentions "people", the object to which it refers is well known. This time in China, **'s physical condition has seriously deteriorated, which is very different from Nixon's last visit to China.
Nixon was even prepared not to meet the great man. However, on his third day in China, Nixon was suddenly notified after attending an agricultural exhibition: "I want to see you." "Considering ***'s physical condition, the Zhongnanhai Secretariat only arranged 15 minutes of meeting time.
When he saw *** again, Nixon found that the octogenarian's physical condition had deteriorated significantly, and *** four years ago seemed to be full of energy and strong hands and feet, but now, the old man had become difficult to speak. The sound Nixon heard in the *** room was almost like a grunt of a string of monophonic words. But Nixon was astute enough to observe that even though *** was in such poor physical condition, his mind remained clear and clear.
Nixon could fully understand the English spoken by ***, but when he wanted to answer, he was limited by his words. A severe stroke left the revolutionary without the ability to express his thoughts in words, and he had to rely on the people around him to "translate". The Chairman's interpreter was a staff member who was always on his side, and although they were familiar with the Chairman, there were inevitably some misunderstandings. **After hearing that the translator made a mistake, I was obviously a little angry.
He took the staff's notebook, wrote down what he wanted to say, and then handed it to the staff to translate into English: "Is peace your only goal?"Nixon was stunned for a moment. If it were an ordinary Western politician, he would certainly not hesitate to answer "yes". It's something they can say effortlessly when it comes to winning over voters. But Nixon understood that the old man in front of him was not the voters at home, but a revolutionary with decades of experience in revolutionary struggle.
If he had replied with such perfunctory words, he might have been criticized: "Surrender will bring about the peace you simply desire." Therefore, he hesitated for a moment before replying: "We should seek a just peace." "The atmosphere of the conversation was generally very relaxed and pleasant. The 15-minute meeting time has passed, but *** still has no intention of stopping, and is still in high spirits to communicate with Nixon. The content of their chats has gradually shifted from national affairs to personal hobbies.
When Nixon learned that *** liked swimming, he suddenly asked curiously, "Do you have any other specialties besides swimming?""*What are you good at?I believe that every Chinese citizen will give a long answer, he is a revolutionary, a politician, a military strategist, a poet ......But when *** himself was asked this question, he pondered for a moment and wrote down 5 words: "Serve the people."
When Nixon listened to the translator explain the meaning of these five words, he couldn't help but stand up on the spot, and then bowed to ***. It was simply a knee-jerk reaction on Nixon's body, and in his words in his memoirs: I was so struck by the chairman's answer that I unconsciously stood up and bowed to him. I'm convinced that in that situation, anyone would do the same. The talks lasted a full 100 minutes, 10 minutes less than the Ford talks.
At the end of the meeting, **'s aides helped him to take Nixon out. When he walked into the spotlight to face reporters, he pushed his assistant away, stood firm on his own, and shook hands with the Nixons in farewell. When Nixon returned to the hotel, he was so excited that he excitedly told the people around him: "I didn't expect *** to be so old, so sharp-minded, and so concerned about current major international issues."
The reason why the great man of history is great lies in his spiritual and ideological vitality, and Chairman *** is a great man full of ideological vitality. ”