Recently the long-awaited book ‘On China’ . was published by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was the great man behind the rapprochement between the US and China during the heyday of the Cold War. This helped China out of its self-imposed isolation and thus began a new chapter in international politics from which the country continues to reap the benefits to this day.
Henry Kissinger was born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in 1923 in Fürth, a provincial town between the Bavarian hills in southern Germany. The Kissinger family was of Jewish descent. In 1938, shortly after the Kristallnacht , Heinz and his family fled to the United States. Away from the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Kissinger studied international relations and after the war went with the US military to occupied Germany, where he taught the officers about the political structure of the defeated Third Reich.
In the late 1950s, Kissinger became a professor of international relations at Harvard University. He wrote continuously through books and articles and came up with advice on foreign policy both solicited and unsolicited. In the late 1960s, Kissinger was very concerned. The power of the United States, in his eyes, was crumbling at an alarming rate. If something didn't happen soon, the Soviet Union would still rule the world.
Kissinger wanted to do much more than just give advice. He wanted power and influence to actually change things. That opportunity came when newly elected President Richard Nixon asked him to become his National Security Adviser in December 1968. Kissinger didn't hesitate for a moment and accepted the invitation.
Although Nixon himself stood his ground in international politics, Kissinger was sure he could make his mark. On his first day at work, he wrote personal letters on behalf of Nixon to world leaders such as French President Charles de Gaulle and Leonid Brezhnev, the great leader of the Soviet Union. The president just put his signature.
There were a lot of issues that required urgent attention. For starters, the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers fought and died in the Vietnamese jungle, the war was very unpopular domestically and the end seemed not in sight. Moreover, the Soviet Union was undisturbed to increase its nuclear weapons arsenal. And then China. The vast country was completely isolated from the outside world. Apart from the fact that the Chinese supported the North Vietnamese communists, Nixon and Kissinger knew next to nothing about the People's Republic.
Nuclear war
Relations between China and the Soviet Union had been deteriorating for several years. This became clear when open fighting broke out on March 2 and 15, 1969 along the Ussuri River, on the Sino-Russian border. For a moment, the conflict seemed to escalate. Brezhnev threatened to launch a nuclear attack on China and both countries have already expelled ambassadors from the country. In addition, Moscow warned its Eastern European allies that China would seek contact with “imperialist powers,” particularly the US and West Germany. The Russians felt betrayed by the communist comrades in Beijing.
That's where Kissinger saw his chance. If America could establish a diplomatic relationship with China, it would be an excellent way to put pressure on the Soviets. An alliance with China might also bring an end to the Vietnam War closer. Enough reason to contact Beijing.
However, there was a problem. Since China became communist in 1949, all diplomatic contact had been cut. The countries were even officially enemies. At first glance, the Chinese did not seem too keen on contact with the Americans, given the anti-American propaganda campaign that had been raging in the country for years.
However, China felt genuinely threatened by the Russians, who were making serious plans for a nuclear attack. Behind the scenes, the Russians even inquired about a possible American response to such an attack. Ultimately, the Chinese also realized that rapprochement with the US had to be considered as a serious option. If only for their own safety.
But that was easier said than done. Nixon and Kissinger instructed the American ambassador to Poland, Walter Stoessel, to contact the Chinese ambassador to that country. It took him three months to get the message across that President Nixon was interested in "concrete talks".
Mystery
In January 1970, the first secret talks between the ambassadors started. China promised to release two American prisoners and America eased its trade embargo against the People's Republic. Ultimately, it all contributed to President Nixon's greatest dream:to be the first American president to pay a state visit to the great and potentially very powerful China.
However, the mistrust was still great. In July 1970, Chinese MiG fighter jets even attacked an American spy plane. Moreover, China was not particularly pleased with the extensive military support that the US gave to Taiwan. China saw – and still sees – Taiwan as a renegade province that should be incorporated with the rest of the country.
Secrecy was Kissinger's trademark, and the Chinese frequently complained that they never really knew where Kissinger was going. There was a clear reason for all the secrecy:Kissinger wanted absolute control over US foreign policy. In particular, William Rogers, the Secretary of State, was not allowed to know about it. If he didn't know anything, he couldn't interfere with anything.
Yet it became increasingly clear that the Chinese were more open than ever to rapprochement with the US. An important message eventually came through the embassy in Pakistan. China's Prime Minister Zhou Enlai invited a "President's Representative" to visit China. Kissinger insisted that no one but himself should go.
Probably not to provoke the Soviets, the Chinese also wanted the visit to be kept secret. Because there were quite a few opponents against the rapprochement in the US, Kissinger and Nixon obviously had no objection at all. Kissinger's secret visit to China was thus scheduled for July 1971. The next step was to warm the American public to the moment when Nixon himself could announce that he was going to Beijing.
Ping-pong diplomacy
A neutral affair was needed to make a slow approach in public. Which means was more suitable for this than sport? By far the most popular sport in China was, of course, ping-pong. After years of isolation, Chinese leader Mao allowed a Chinese team to compete in the World Ping-Pong Championships in Nagoya, Japan.
The Chinese entry into the tournament was a thinly disguised diplomatic mission. The team refused to play against South Vietnam, Cambodia and the Soviet Union but sought friendship with the American team. Presents were exchanged and the Americans indicated that they would like to come to Beijing, the capital of ping-pong. “The visit of our ping-pong friends has opened a new chapter in the relationship between the American and Chinese peoples. This is the beginning of much more beautiful things,” Prime Minister Zhou addressed the US team upon their arrival. In Washington, Kissinger and Nixon were ecstatic.
On July 10, 1971, the big moment had arrived. Kissinger had first visited South Vietnam, Thailand, India and Pakistan before boarding a plane in Islamabad for his secret trip to China. In the Forbidden City in Beijing, Kissinger and Prime Minister Zhou spoke for three days about various matters, such as the Vietnam War and the Taiwan issue. Kissinger and Zhou planned President Nixon's visit in the spring of 1972 and agreed that future communications would be through the embassy in Paris. Everything would remain secret for now. Kissinger telexed the agreed code word "Eureka" to Washington to indicate that his visit was a success.
Nixon's visit was now set, and there was no need to be overly secretive anymore. Nixon announced on television that Kissinger had been in Beijing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs knew nothing about it. A few months later, he also announced his visit to China, which would take place on February 21, 1972. The visit was widely reported on radio and TV. To the frustration of Nixon himself, however, Kissinger became the great hero, including star allures.
Thanks to Kissinger's diplomatic success, the American-China rapprochement had become a major force in world politics. The Soviet Union recognized that it was outside this alliance and partially abandoned its provocations. Kissinger's rapprochement with China thus had direct consequences in world politics and partly caused a period of relaxation in relations with the Soviet Union.
Several months after his legendary visit to China, Nixon traveled to Moscow as an "international peacemaker" on May 22, 1972, at the invitation of Soviet leader Brezhnev. There he signed the important disarmament treaty SALT (see box), which Kissinger had also been negotiating (again in secret) for months.
Nixon's trip to China and the Soviet Union later earned him reelection in 1972. Kissinger had definitely earned his diplomatic spurs. He became Secretary of State in his new term at the expense of William Rogers. When Nixon had to resign in 1974 as a result of the Watergate scandal, Kissinger remained the highest boss at the Ministry under his successor Gerald Ford.