Chairman Answer: Nixon Chiang, Chairman of the National Committee
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On February 21, 1972, Nixon landed at Beijing Airport on a U.S. plane and began his historic visit to China.
And during this meeting, which was enough to change the pattern of the world, there was a small episode between Nixon ** and ***. "I've heard that Chiang Kai-shek has always called you bandits, and I'd love to know what you call them”
Nixon's joke seemed casual, but in fact it challenged the sensitive Taiwan issue. ** In just seven words, the puzzle was cleverly resolved. So, what exactly did you say?
Why did these seven words make Nixon laugh so much?The development of Sino-US relations should be familiar to everyone. In some glorious families, veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea still survive.
Their existence has always proved the glorious history of our country. Facts have proved that our country is capable of fighting in the face of any strong enemy, and we have the belief that we will win, which is crucial in the course of our development.
With the end of World War II, the international situation gradually stabilized, and the means of struggle between countries changed from violent wars to more covert political struggles. The capitalist countries led by the United States have risen rapidly, and the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union has been in direct opposition to them.
In this environment, the nascent China faced great difficulties, and although the Communists succeeded in driving out the Kuomintang, the environment for its development remained grim. The Americans' resolute refusal to recognize China's legitimacy and their instigation of other countries to impose a diplomatic blockade on China have led to a stalemate in Sino-US relations.
However, China's help from the Soviet Union in the early years of its founding, coupled with its outstanding performance in the Korean War, gave Americans a new understanding of China and began to feel jealous.
China's leaders were eager to change the country's predicament, and with the completion of the three major transformations, China began to enter a socialist society, industrial construction was in full swing, and the country showed a strong momentum of development.
China's relationship with the Soviet Union was like that of a couple, but it was also troublesome at times. The socialist parties in the USSR were self-righteous and demanded that China act according to their strategy; There were also serious ideological differences within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which had a negative attitude towards Stalin's contributions, a phenomenon that was especially noticeable after Khrushchev came to power.
Stalin's attitude towards *** was: "They are trying to control China militarily and ideologically, and we resolutely resist it." "*'s attitude is also China's attitude, China is no longer the country that is bullied, and we have enough courage to oppose any unreasonable actions.
This attitude was undoubtedly correct, but in the special international environment at that time, China still paid a huge price for it. In July 1960, the Soviet Union unilaterally recalled all Soviet specialists who had participated in aid work in our country, an act that caused huge losses to China.
This loss was not only manifested in the economy, but also in the fact that Soviet specialists were involved in some of the most classified projects in our country at that time, which caused deep concern for our leadership.
Under Khrushchev's leadership, Sino-Soviet relations gradually deteriorated, and the Soviet Union even increased troops on the Sino-Soviet border. This almost broke off communication and contacts between China and the Soviet Union. At that time, Western countries generally believed that war between China and the Soviet Union was inevitable, but fortunately both sides kept their senses and did not let the situation deteriorate further.
At this time, China faces a huge challenge to ensure both domestic development and guard against possible conflicts. And the United States on the other side of the ocean is also in a difficult situation, they desperately want to be able to unite all the forces that can be used to sanction the Soviet Union, but their own Vietnam War has exhausted them and has been at a disadvantage in this "US-Soviet hegemony".
Nixon was sworn in at a critical moment, but he faced a difficult situation on the battlefield in Vietnam and struggled to turn the tide. Therefore, finding political assistance became his top priority.
The capitalist countries were mostly already under the influence of the United States, and Nixon needed to find new "allies". The answer points to China, because "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Relations between China and the United States and the Soviet Union were strained, and the United States believed that cooperation with China was in the common interest of both sides. However, it was not an easy step to take this step, and how to start this new partnership became a key issue for Nixon.
A Subtle Shift in U.S.-China Relations: From "Tentative" to "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" As early as the Vietnam War, the United States realized that engagement with China could be a new way out.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Bundy has suggested that the United States should try the possibility of China while resisting the expansion of communism in Asia. The introduction of this view marked the beginning of a change in the official attitude of the United States towards China, from calling China's capital Beiping to Beijing, which was seen as a gesture of goodwill toward China.
The following year, Nixon, who had not yet become a leader, said in his article that the role of the United States as the world's policeman may be limited, and China should not be excluded from the family of nations forever.
This suggests that the Americans are looking for a new international balance that will help the United States get out of the predicament of the Vietnam War, while also potentially easing the long-standing contradictions between China and the United States.
"Ping Pong Diplomacy" has set off waves as a symbolic event of the transformation of Sino-US relations. This incident shows that Sino-US relations are not simply a diplomatic issue, but also involve the global strategy of the United States and China's development needs.
Despite Nixon's overtures, our leaders were in no hurry to establish diplomatic relations with the United States. The reason is that ** is convinced that the United States is a symbol of hegemony and that it is necessary to be extremely careful in dealing with it.
However, as the game between China and the United States continued to escalate, the Soviet Union also began to show its expansionist ambitions, which posed a serious threat to China. This threat, due to its greater urgency due to geopolitical factors, surpasses the threat posed by the United States.
Faced with this situation, an important strategic decision was made to try to establish a strategic partnership with the United States. After Nixon came to power, the two sides began a series of tentative attempts to achieve this goal.
After only 12 days in office, Nixon instructed his subordinates on the possibility of engaging with China. In July of the same year, he even directly stopped the patrol of the US Navy in the Taiwan Strait as a sign of sincerity.
This series of actions has made our leaders feel his goodwill. On October 1, 1970, at an important event to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the American Edgar ** was invited to climb the Tiananmen Tower and was arranged to stand next to ***.
After the celebration ceremony, **personally received**, which further demonstrated the friendly relationship between the two sides.
The two men had an intimate conversation, looking back on the arduous years of the Communist Party and looking forward to the future prospects of China and the United States. As the first foreign friend invited to Tiananmen Square, ** is highly respected, which shows that our country is ready to establish ties with the United States.
On December 18 of the same year, the president met again and directly invited Nixon to visit China. However, the U.S.-China has a long-standing feud, and while both sides have expressed a desire to connect, the question of how to get started is a tricky one.
Both China and the United States were reluctant to lose face in this table tennis match, and tensions in some parts of the country at the time caused the matter to be delayed. When both sides are anxious about this, a great opportunity arises.
In March 1971, Nagoya, Japan hosted the 31st World Table Tennis Championships, and both the Chinese team and the United States team were invited. On the surface, it's a sporting competition, but in reality, these athletes have an important mission on their shoulders – to get in touch with the opposing players.
As our national sport, table tennis players have shined on the international stage and won applause and cheers from all over the world. And after a competition, an American athlete actually "mistakenly boarded" the shuttle bus of a Chinese athlete, which made the atmosphere in the car a little awkward.
In order to resolve the embarrassment, both parties took out their own gifts, and when they got off the car, they felt more intimate with each other. When the leaders of China and the United States learned of this, they ordered the US table tennis team to visit China, and Nixon said that the athletes must accept the invitation.
On April 10, the U.S. national table tennis team started a seven-day visit to China, and was personally received, showing that China attaches great importance to it.
Ping-pong diplomacy", one is jokingly called"The small ball drives the big ball"This important moment in international history heralded the formation of a new international pattern and promoted the development of the international situation.
Since then, the barriers to communication between China and the United States have been cleared and the strategic partnership between the two countries has been re-established. On July 8, 1971, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger secretly boarded a flight from Pakistan to Beijing and held a secret meeting with *** over the next few days.
Although no one knows exactly what they discussed, the two sides must have worked together on elaborate planning and design to make Nixon**'s official visit to China possible.
On February 21, 1972, the United States** Nixon arrived in Beijing, and a state visit of the same difficulty as the Apollo program finally began. As Nixon stepped down the ramp, he took the initiative to shake hands for a minute, symbolizing the first contact between China and the United States in more than 20 years, and also showing the collision and exchange between different ideologies and political systems.
Nixon** skillfully solved the problem in seven words, which fully reflected his great demeanor.
While all of this stemmed from the Soviet Union's continued expansionist ambitions, it was also a clear indication of the long-standing shared aspirations of both China and the United States. Since then, the situation of polarization has become a thing of the past, and China has become a key player in the international landscape of the new era.
Americans have realized this, world leaders have realized this, and a whole new era has begun. China, as the host, gave Nixon** a high degree of respect and warm welcome, and even played a beautiful piece of music at the dinner - "Beautiful America", which is exactly the repertoire played at Nixon**'s inauguration.
Nixon was well prepared for this state visit. He not only recited *** poems in Chinese, but also used chopsticks to be very skillful.
After the banquet, Nixon and Kissinger were received in the study, and the two sides had a friendly and pleasant conversation. However, in the course of a pleasant exchange between the two sides, Nixon suddenly made a joke: "I have heard that Chiang Kai-shek has always called you bandits, and I would love to know what you call them?" ”
It has always been an unavoidable topic between China and the United States, and Nixon's remark was ostensibly a joke, but in fact it was a test of our attitude towards the Taiwan issue.
If we do not give a satisfactory response, we will lose the initiative on the Taiwan issue, and even Nixon will have the idea of contempt. At that moment, the atmosphere at the scene was tense, and everyone pinched a cold sweat for ***, and at the same time expected him to give a clear answer.
We also call him a bandit" - Nixon couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard this, and the originally tense atmosphere was easily dissipated by this sentence. This sentence sounds like self-deprecation, but it invisibly shows our relationship with our compatriots in Taiwan, no matter when and where, we are a family that loves each other.
** Deftly shifting the topic to the Taiwan issue, he firmly told Nixon that the Taiwan issue was an internal affair that brooked no foreign interference. Nixon felt aggrieved, impressed by his wisdom and bearing, and no longer took the initiative to raise the Taiwan issue.
The meeting seemed to have had some effect, and in the subsequent rounds of talks, the Americans stopped making things difficult for China, and the two sides reached a series of far-reaching consensus. It is a pity that Nixon withdrew from the Watergate scandal, otherwise China and the United States would have benefited more from this historic event.
Nixon's efforts, regardless of the direction of history, are an important milestone in the history of the development of Sino-US relations. This breakthrough not only promoted the improvement of the international system, but also strengthened friendly exchanges between countries around the world.
After the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, many Western countries have established diplomatic relations with China and deepened cooperation in various fields such as economy and culture. The most valuable thing is that the people of China and the United States have benefited from it, and the stability and peace in the Asia-Pacific region have been maintained for a long time.
There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies, only eternal interests. However, there are some country choices that can indeed rewrite world history.
China will unswervingly follow its own path and will never change because of the interests of any country. We have gone through the trials and tribulations of history and know that only when we are strong can we achieve lasting peace on the world stage.
This is exactly the peace and prosperity brought to us by the great men of that generation, and the respect we enjoy today is the result of the bloody struggle of the martyrs. Their exploits should be recorded in the annals of history.
After reading the history of *** and Nixon, do you have any feelings that you would like to share? Feel free to leave a message in the comment area.