![]() ![]() ![]() When Richard Nixon took office in 1969, it marked the 20th anniversary of the creation of the People’s Republic of China, and 20 years of frozen diplomatic relations between the United States and Communist China. President Nixon meets with his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, en route to China, 1972. WATCH: Watergate on HISTORY Vault China-U.S. In the words of one of his ambassadors, Nixon’s eight-day visit in February of 1972 was “the week that changed the world” and substantially altered the balance of power between the United States, China and the Soviet Union. Nixon, always a fan of the “big play,” had high hopes that his trip to China would be the kind of seismic geopolitical event that changed the course of history. The surprise announcement was the result of months of top-secret diplomacy between the Nixon White House and Beijing. “I have taken this action because of my profound conviction that all nations will gain from a reduction of tensions and a better relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China,” said Nixon in his address. president to visit the People’s Republic of China, a Communist nation of 750 million that, next to the Soviet Union, was America’s fiercest adversary in the Cold War. On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation in a live televised broadcast to make an unexpected announcement: he had accepted an invitation from Beijing to become the first U.S.
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