During the War of Liberation, the United States vigorously supported the Kuomintang reactionaries, provided them with American weapons and equipment, and used US transport planes and ships to help Chiang's army mobilize combat troops across the theater. Soon after, on the Korean battlefield, the volunteers met with the United States-led joint army. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, relations with the world's number one superpower were very tense.
Differences in ideology and national interests have led to a seemingly insurmountable gulf between China and the United States. However, with the bad relations between China and the Soviet Union and the adjustment of China's foreign policy, in February 1972, Nixon led a delegation to visit China, and in January 1979, China and the United States finally formally established diplomatic relations. In 1957, the far-sighted one predicted that sooner or later the United States would have to establish diplomatic relations with us. It didn't take long for the great man's words to come true.
Before Nixon's visit to China, Dr. Kissinger came to Beijing twice in 1971 to "lay the ground" for Nixon. Kissinger discovered a phenomenon that disturbed him: the streets and alleys of Beijing were plastered with slogans such as "Down with US imperialism" and "The oppressed ** together", and the accompanying interpreter informed Kissinger of these conditions as they were. Out of politeness, although he did not directly ask questions or express dissatisfaction with our side, he had some hidden worries in his heart, fearing that Nixon would react badly when he officially visited China.
In fact, until Nixon's official visit to China the following year, the relevant slogans in Beijing were not replaced or obscured, even at the airport. As soon as Nixon got off the plane, he saw the Chinese words to "knock down" them. The people of our country can naturally understand the domestic background of the 70s of the last century. But US leaders, who have never set foot in Chinese mainland, will inevitably feel unhappy when they see such overwhelming targeted slogans for the first time. Nixon was ** after all, or maybe he had already built his mind, he didn't raise any objections to the *** who came to welcome him, and he still smiled.
But Nixon didn't hold back in the end. Later, when he met with ***, he asked a question with an embarrassed expression: Why is the capital of your country plastered with slogans saying "Down with us"? Although he was 79 years old and his speech was a little unclear, his mind was still very agile. Faced with this question that was not easy to answer, the chairman smiled and said four words: "Let go of the cannon!"
The translator explained this sentence to Nixon when he saidI added another sentence: Just like decades ago, Jiang has been shouting to exterminate us. Nixon laughed when he heard this, and the unhappiness in his heart vanished. Nixon admired the great men of the East very much in his heart. Nixon later admitted that ** was "a great man who was active in mind and fought until the last moment." The analogy of * instantly dissolves the embarrassment, and the addition of *** is just right.
When Nixon visited China in 72, Sino-US relations eased but diplomatic relations had not yet been formally established. And when he really met Nixon, he gave the other party enough faces, claiming to be a "hollow cannon", which shows the mind of a great man. The addition is also very meaningful: because in the forties of the last century, it was the United States that supported Lao Chiang to fight the civil war, but in the end it ended in failure. Taking the initiative to mention Chiang is also a diplomatic strategy, we are willing to get along with the United States amicably, but we need to be on the premise of equality and mutual respect. The talent and character of the revolutionaries of the older generation are truly admired by future generations.