On July 15, 1971 (Los Angeles time) at 7:30 p.m., then-U.S. President Richard Nixon delivered a televised address to the entire American people.
The announcement of less than three minutes seemed to pour a basin of cold water into the boiling oil, which caused an uproar in the world for a time.
Every word in this announcement has been carefully deliberated by both China and the United States and has rich connotations.
In particular, the sentence "President Nixon expressed his desire to visit the People's Republic of China" has aroused a lot of discussion.
Adding this sentence to the announcement, Nixon would have refused.
He hoped that the announcement would read "The People's Republic of China invited President Nixon to visit", after all, as the "world's first" big country, the benchmark of capitalism, and even fought a war with China in North Korea, as a result, less than twenty years later, he took the initiative to "ask China for a visit" and "ask for attention", which is really a face-punching suspicion.
As a result, our side directly rejected the US request and replied that if the US side is determined to change its rhetoric, then this visit can be shelved for a while.
We can wait, but Nixon can't afford to wait! In desperation, he could only accept this proposal.
After everything was finalized, the English version of the announcement was broadcast on television by Nixon, and the Chinese version was broadcast seven times in 24 hours by broadcast under the personal arrangement of Premier Zhou.
And so, the greatest ice-breaking trip in half a century is finally here.
How did this meeting between China and the United States happen? What stories happened during the meeting? Today, I will talk about Nixon's visit to China.
In the late 1960s, because we actively supported the Vietnamese little brothers on the Vietnamese battlefield and put more than 600,000 Americans dead on the Vietnamese battlefield through guerrilla warfare, the Yankees fell into passivity in the struggle for hegemony with the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, because we fell out with the Soviets in 1959, the Soviets have always regarded themselves as socialist big brothers, wanting to build a long-wave radio base in China, and even asking China to cede the port of Lushun as a military port of the Soviet Union.
When it comes to issues of national sovereignty, we have always been unyielding.
Enraged, the Soviet Union withdrew its Soviet experts and asked us for a loan during the Period of The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (as mentioned earlier, the loan amounted to more than 1.2 billion rubles, or about 400 billion yuan now).
Khrushchev may think that China will compromise on this, after all, this money is a sky-high price if it is repaid by China's national taxes at that time.
But how can we Chinese be pinched by them? Just pay it back! After this, after the Sino-Soviet controversy and other events, the contradictions between China and the Soviet Union intensified, and even a small-scale armed conflict broke out.
After this series of events, the Americans were keenly aware that China and the Soviet Union were not superficially "monolithic", and in line with the principle that the enemy of the enemy is a friend, nixon tried many times to improve relations with our side as soon as he came to power, including taking the initiative to establish channels for exchanging messages with China through Pakistan and Romania.
In the early 1970s, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou sent a message of willingness to contact the US side and strive to open up a stalemate in Sino-US relations by inviting the American writer Snow to send a message inviting the US table tennis team to visit China.
As the first Western journalist to interview Chairman Mao, Snow was an old friend of Chinese.
In August 1970, Snow made his last visit to China.
If anyone is looking for a photo of Chairman Mao and Mr. and Mrs. Snow in the Tiananmen Tower, it will not be difficult to find that this photo shows only Chairman Mao, Mr. and Mrs. Snow and the interpreter standing behind them, and that everyone else next to or behind them has been technically processed.
Obviously, this is a message that our side is implicitly releasing goodwill to the US side; after all, as an ordinary US journalist, he was able to receive Chairman Mao's super-standard reception, which was an almost explicit "hint."
Unexpectedly, Americans, who had always caught a fly and were eager to analyze which mother fly's belly it came from, ignored such important information that even Kissinger himself admitted that "[they] overestimated our analytical ability."
It can be seen that although Americans are good at technical analysis, they are also too superstitious about technology.
On the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Americans were able to use heavy artillery to cut the top of the hill in Shangganling by two meters, but they could never understand why my heroic volunteer army would still launch an indignant counterattack on the volunteer position that should have "even fleas should have been killed ten times (the American soldiers said themselves)"! Because they don't understand that the determinants are always people, not technology, capital, and God.
Seeing that the Americans did not catch our terrier, on December 28 of that year, Chairman Mao received Snow again.
When it comes to Sino-US relations, Snow, as a senior journalist, appropriately throws up the question: "Would the chairman like to see Nixon?" ”
Chairman Mao duly grasped the conversation, slowly held out a finger, and said to Snow: "If he wants to come to Beijing, you will carry a letter and tell him to come quietly."
At the end, the chairman also used his unique Maoist humor and said: "I don't think I will quarrel, criticism is to criticize him." ”
Helplessly, these well-meaning Americans released by our side still haven't gotten it, and we are also helpless, this person is too unenlightened.
Fortunately, the turnaround came right away.
The 31st World Table Tennis Championships in 1971 was held in Japan.
Before the Chinese team left, the chairman put forward a requirement of "friendship first, competition second".
This kind of requirement is actually called "unprecedented", everyone thinks, what is the theme of the Olympic Games? It's "higher, faster, stronger".
In the eyes of ordinary people, the game is to compete for the first place.
But the vision of the great man is different, he feels that the game is just a form, winning or losing is secondary, the key is to open the blockade through the game and expand our circle of friends.
Sure enough, the athletes on the scene were all impressed by the Chinese athletes' skills and handling styles, and they competed with the Chinese athletes.
One day, the Chinese delegation was preparing to go to the competition venue when an American player named Cohen mistakenly got into the Car of a Chinese athlete.
After Cohen got on the car, Chinese athlete Zhuang Zedong took the initiative to greet him, both of whom were young people and table tennis players, and the more they talked in the car, the more speculative they became.
When they were separated, Cohen said that if he had the opportunity, he hoped to go to China for exchanges.
Zhuang Zedong was not sure of his idea, and quickly asked his superiors for instructions, and the superiors were not sure, only to report it layer by layer, and as a result, such a small matter actually attracted the attention of the highest level in China and the United States.
Chairman Mao, who learned of this, said happily: This little zhuang not only plays the ball beautifully, but is also a good hand at diplomacy! We have decided to formally extend an invitation to the U.S. table tennis delegation.
On April 10, 1971, the American table tennis delegation came to Beijing and began a week-long visit and exchange.
For a time, the exchanges between Chinese and American table tennis players became the front page news of major media around the world, and even Premier Zhou received them in a busy schedule.
The U.S. table tennis delegation received a high-profile reception in China, and Nixon was very excited, and this time, the big straight man finally got the hang of it. Nixon wrote in his memoirs: "I was surprised and delighted by this news. ”
After the success of Sino-US "ping-pong diplomacy," both Chairman Mao and Nixon had the idea of further contacts and talks.
To be on the safe side, Nixon decided to send a special envoy to Paris to meet with Huang Zhen (then the Chinese ambassador to France).
Paris was chosen because France was the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China at that time, and its relations with China have always been relatively friendly. What Nixon did not expect was that just as he began to arrange this matter, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States quietly came to the White House.
Nixon's spirits lifted with the news he brought: "The Chinese government has agreed to publicly receive the U.S. envoy in Beijing. ”
Although Premier Zhou said that he could receive the US Presidential envoy in public, Nixon felt that the time was not ripe enough for all premature public words, and after much deliberation, he decided to send Kissinger to Beijing after a transit flight in Pakistan as a state visit to Pakistan.
After Kissinger's secret arrival in Beijing, he held a 17-hour secret conversation with Premier Zhou. After that, Kissinger came to Beijing twice and exchanged views with Premier Zhou on the specific itinerary and security issues of Nixon's visit to China.
At this time, there was also a small story.
One day, a U.S. diplomat approached Premier Zhou directly, pulled out a newspaper from his bag, pointed to a line on it, and asked What Premier Zhou meant.
When the prime minister looked at it, the newspaper impressively wrote seven words " Down with the wolf of american imperialism ambition " , presumably left by the waiter in the hotel intentionally / unintentionally.
After all, Sino-US relations were very tense at that time, and the service staff actually saw that there were Americans living in the hotel, so they wanted to "warn" them.
Because the newspaper was found in the room, the Americans were nervous that Chinese were "suggesting" that they were not welcome, and even felt that their personal safety was threatened.
Hearing this, Premier Zhou laughed and said: This is just a "slogan", don't you also shout every day to eliminate us?
In this way, an event that might have turned into a diplomatic incident was easily resolved by the prime minister.
After everything was ready, we only waited for Nixon to visit China, and Nixon made full preparations for this visit.
For example, Nixon suddenly read a lot of Chairman Mao's poems, and even practiced the skill of eating with chopsticks, so through the photos, we will see the scene of Premier Zhou giving Nixon a dish.
With so many appetizers on the table, the big dishes are finally coming to the table.
On February 17, 1972, the president's plane left Washington, and Nixon led a delegation of nearly four hundred people to China.
Nixon repeatedly asked the accompanying reporters in advance to capture the scene as soon as he shook hands with the prime minister when he got off the plane. And he will also cooperate with reporters, and the time of the handshake will be more likely to be extended.
On the surface, our side is not as urgent for the Sino-US meeting as the US side, but we have also fully demonstrated the hospitality of the Chinese.
At that time, when foreign heads of state came to Beijing, the honor guard of the three services sent by our side was generally about 150 people, but Nixon visited China, but Premier Zhou arranged a full 360 honor guard. This made Nixon feel the full sincerity of Chinese. The vigorous and sonorous movements of the honor guard of the three services left a deep impression on Nixon.
Against this background, the top level of China and the United States finally met.
As soon as Nixon got off the plane, he took the initiative to extend his hand to Premier Zhou, and the two men shook hands for up to a minute, (we say this was to compensate for the mistake of Secretary of State Dulles refusing to shake hands with the prime minister at the Geneva Conference in 1954.) In fact, it is quite possible that Nixon wanted to get the reporter to take the best picture. After all, just such a photo is enough for him to beat the previous presidents, and he is the first U.S. president to shake hands with the leader of Red China.)
Interestingly, the background of the two men's handshake was plastered with "Down with US imperialism and all reactionaries!" " slogan.
Some people say that these slogans were not removed because our diplomatic work was not done carefully at that time and "forgot" to take them down; others said that the slogans were Chinese anyway, and the Yankees who could not remove them could not understand them.
None of these claims are true.
First of all, the principle that our diplomatic work has always adhered to is that "diplomacy is no small matter", and the prime minister himself often pays attention to the relevant matters of receiving foreign guests in great detail, even including what color tablecloth is used, he will personally ask, how can he forget to remove such an obvious slogan?
Besides, the Yankees didn't understand Chinese, even if Nixon himself didn't understand it, his personal translator must have understood it, right? What's more, it is estimated that Nixon may also understand.
Since the 1960s, the world has been influenced by the revolutionary trend in China. The French had a May storm that forced de Gaulle to flee France; in the United States, workers and university students took to the streets to march, and it was difficult to be alone. Before Nixon's visit to China, a large number of people gathered in front of the White House and held aloft the slogan "Henry, don't be afraid when you see Chairman Mao.", even if Nixon did not know the Chinese characters, when he saw this piece of Chinese red, it was estimated that he would guess the content of eight or nine.
However, Nixon was also a man with a city government, and although he had doubts in his heart, he did not immediately show them.
With inner doubts, Nixon arrived at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse accompanied by Premier Zhou, and the next thing surprised Nixon a little.
Under normal circumstances, when foreign heads of state visit China, Chairman Mao usually meets with them for talks a day or two before he leaves China.
However, shortly after lunch, Nixon, who was planning to take a shower and take a good rest, suddenly received news that Chairman Mao was going to talk to him that afternoon.
It was an unprecedented treatment, and Nixon, though exhausted, had to hurry up. Because he knew that Chairman Mao was not in good health in his later years, if he did not meet with the chairman this time, it was not certain when he would have to wait next time.
Chairman Mao chose the place to meet Nixon in his study, and chose to meet important foreign guests in the study, which was very common in Chairman Mao's later years, and sometimes he even chose to meet foreign guests in the swimming pool.
As soon as he entered the chairman's study, Nixon was stunned by the large cabinet filled with books on all sides.
He told the chairman that he had read books at Harvard, and his teacher strongly recommended that everyone should read Chairman Mao's "Theory of Contradictions" and "Theory of Practice."
Chairman Mao modestly said that those articles were not worth reading, but just a little reading note I had written. (I checked specifically, and Nixon did get a chance to get into Harvard, but because his family was not well off, he gave up the opportunity and went to Duke University instead.) I don't know if he said in front of the chairman that he studied at Harvard and wanted to put gold in his face.)
But since he mentioned two articles he had written, Chairman Mao began to talk to Nixon about philosophy.
Not everyone had the opportunity to listen to the chairman's philosophy lectures, and Nixonton was flattered.
However, listening to it, he felt that something was wrong, "I didn't come to class when I came all the way."
Therefore, he wanted to bring the topic to specific international issues, but Chairman Mao always brought him back to the philosophical aspect in two words. Halfway through the time, I have been talking about philosophy.
Nixon really had no choice but to directly say that he wanted to talk to the chairman about The Taiwan and Vietnam issues. Who knows, Chairman Mao smiled slightly, pointed to Premier Zhou next to him, and said, "I am not interested in these specific issues, that is what he talked to you about." ”
During the talks, Nixon consciously or unconsciously mentioned anti-imperialist and anti-feudal slogans seen at the airport and on both sides of the road, and Chairman Mao responded humorously by saying: "That is a joke of 'empty cannons.'" ”
When Nixon first heard the word "empty cannon," he didn't know what it meant, and his puzzled expression naturally appeared on his face.
Premier Zhou Enlai, who has always been careful, continued to explain: "We have always shouted the slogan of 'Down with US imperialism', but have you not also shouted the slogan of 'eliminating the Communist Party'?" Look at who is still beating whom! That's what it means to vent a cannon."
Nixon seemed to understand, and he laughed and teased himself, "Just (knock down) people like me." ”
Chairman Mao also laughed and said, "Personally, you and he (Kissinger) may not be included." We were all knocked down, and we had no friends. ”
Carefully tasting Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou's response to the "anti-imperialist slogan" is indeed brilliant and full of great wisdom, and a simple sentence reveals at least three meanings:
1. We can recognize who is our friend and who is our enemy;
2. We welcome the arrival of friends;
3. We are never soft on the enemy;
China's supreme leader sat down and talked with the American leader who had been hostile to China for more than 20 years, and this relaxed and pleasant atmosphere of exchange greatly surprised Nixon and Kissinger. Kissinger later recalled: "Mao's language always contains a deeper meaning", "let you think, chew..."
On this evening, the talks between the two sides on "specific issues" officially began, and the two sides engaged in five days of verbal exchanges on the Taiwan issue, which was the most divergent, and finally reached a basic agreement on February 26.
If you are interested, you can go to the communiqué, especially the Part of the Chinese side, which is quite enjoyable.
The opening verse is "Where there is oppression, there is resistance." The country wants independence, the nation wants liberation, and the people want revolution, which has become an irresistible historical trend" Is not so much a communiqué as a manifesto. On the other hand, the US side uses words such as "will be committed to establishing a just and stable peace" and is really weak and boring.
On the Taiwan issue, the United States recognizes/acknowledges that there is only one China, and Taiwan is part of China.
The United States Government does not dispute this position.
Two days later, the Sino-US Joint Communiqué was officially published, because it was an announcement made by the two countries in Shanghai, so it was also called the "Shanghai Communiqué".
The publication of the "Shanghai Communiqué" cleared the most important obstacle to the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. At the farewell party, Nixon raised a glass and said, "This week is the week that changes the world." ”
In the meantime, there is another interesting story: In the 1970s, the Americans had built a network of satellites covering the whole world. To this end, the Americans proposed that they want to enter our country several months in advance and establish satellite ground relay stations. In this way, the specific dynamics of their president's visit to China can be quickly transmitted back to China and broadcast in prime time.
We actively support the coverage of the foreign affairs of the President of the United States, but it is also our principle that satellite relay stations cannot be built on our territory. After all, this involves national security issues.
The Americans said, I don't have to go, the key is that you in China do not have this satellite broadcasting related equipment.
Otherwise, we won't go, sell you the equipment for the ground relay station, and install it yourself.
We could accept this plan, and then the Americans made it bad, opened a sky-high price, and thought that our side might be distressed by money, so we had to accept the Americans' demands. Our staff who went to talk about this matter could not get an idea, and only reported it layer by layer, and finally reported it to the chairman, and Chairman Mao waved a big hand. buy!
When the president of the United States wants to come and visit, we will say that since we bought the equipment, you cannot use it for free, rent it.
How much does the rent cost? As much as we buy, you pay as much rent as you want.
The Americans wanted to pit us, but they were reversed.
Oh, yes, Americans can not bring their own cars, Nixon can only travel by our red flag, the necessary TV broadcast car should be handed over to our driver to drive, these are our China to the old Meili "rules".
There are both yang plots and small machine edges, reasoning and moderation and fighting skills, which is the style of a big country left to us by the older generation!