Nixon’s Concessions in China

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On the Indochina peninsula was the nation of Taiwan. Long looked at as a free nation by much of the world as well as the United States, the Chinese had always believed that it was part of the People’s Republic of China. The United States, during the Truman administration had recognized Taiwan as part of one China. However, with the rising fear of communism following the end of World War II, the United States Shifted its policy. So when Nixon traveled to China and made an agreement with Zedong that the United States would support a one China policy, the press began to question the choices and the concessions that were made by the United States. Much of the press began to speculate that the trip and meeting with Zedong were only granted under the condition that talks could be made about the international view and standing of Taiwan.

Some news sources applauded Nixon’s choice in the Shanghai Communique, while others were more critical of his decision to agree to the one China state. Those sources were highly critical of Nixon’s concessions to China saying that it appeared as if Nixon “gave more than he got”. Robert Toth of the Los Angeles times said that the agreements between The U.S. and China came with concessions by the United States. The United States agreed to withdraw all of the military forces and all US governmental personal out of Taiwan. This was China’s goal in creating a one China state without the influence of other nations. [1]

In addition to Taiwan, the Chinese wanted something else from the United States and it was the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the states. The two nations agreed that neither of them would seek to dominate Asia and would oppose any other nations efforts to do the same. This was partially targeting the Soviets, who had been stationed along the boarder lines between China for some time. Nixon embraced these agreements all with the total hope of easing tensions when it came to the war in Vietnam and hopefully progressing to the eventual end of it. His choices regarding Taiwan are still felt today but his overall goal of embracing China and settling hostility was a success. Relations between China and The United States were better than they had ever been after Nixon’s visit.

Before President Nixon took his trip to China and met Mao Zedong, relations between the two nations were poor. They were both engaged in supporting a war in Vietnam, with unclear motives on intervention in the Asian peninsula. As time shifted and post Nixon’s visit, China and the United States were slowly becoming allies and moving closer to one another. These meetings between the nations were all happening during the Vietnam War, and greatly impacted the eventual end of the war 3 years after his visit. While many positive steps were ultimately made, it was made at a cost, which was recognizing Taiwan as part of one China and the United States pulling out of the influence it had.

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