Should The United States Failure To Establish Relations With China?

The “Brezhnev Doctrine” coupled with Chinese/Soviet clashes along the border of China strained relations between the two governments. The strained relationship between Moscow and Beijing created an opportunity for the United States to establish relations with China. The American government hoped to curb Soviet influence with the second largest communist government in the world, and establish stronger international relations/leverage in the Asian region. (1)

The invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by Warsaw forces created uncertainty toward the Soviets among other communist governments in Asia and Europe. A Warsaw force of over 500,000 troops invaded Czechoslovakia to remove progressive government officials, and replace the leadership with traditional communist governmental leaders aligned with Soviet doctrine and interests. The situations defined and exposed the Soviet intentions of not only influencing other communist countries, but open hostilities against those governments when they refused to bend to Moscow’s demands. (1)

By 1969, the Vietnam War had undermined America’s political power abroad and created civil unrest domestically. President Richard Nixon hoped by creating a diplomatic relationship with China, he could gain the required leverage against the government of North Vietnam to end the war. Nixon seized on the uncertainty created
America acknowledged that Taiwan was and always will be part of China and the Chinese agreed that the American forces maintained in Japan would continue to curb any hostile Japanese intentions in the region. The meeting resulted in positive public relations for both countries, while the meetings served to provide the Chinese government with intelligence on Soviet activity, establish trade and travel agreements, paved the way for Chinese entry into the United Nations, and finalizing the Communiqué that Kissinger had initiated during his meeting.