RICHARD NIXON 1972 The Foundation of Peace : CHINA (Part One)

The opening of our Season 2 look at the Administration of Richard Nixon begins with the signature event of his time in office., the opening to China.  It marks the beginning of a season of triumph for America and for Richard Nixon. It begins with a journey into the unknown because China and the United States had had no diplomatic ties for a quarter of a century. In fact, China had bee isolated from the rest of the world for much of that time as Chairman Mao had consolidated his power. <br/><br/>Just as Nixon had ascended to the Presidency, our intelligence agencies had been gathering information about a growing rift in the communist world between China and the Soviet Union. That rift had become much worse as shots had actually been fired across the border between the two Communist giants.  Richard Nixon, who had known he wanted to reach out to China long before he had even taken over the Presidency, knew that this would be his chance and immediately started working toward that goal. Much to the shock of his most trusted advisors, including Henry Kissinger, whose job it would be to actually go over to China and work out the deals to allow Nixon to make his move. <br/><br/>It would take a couple of years and a lot of cloak and dagger operations concealed from the public and even from our own State Department, but by July of 1971, Richard Nixon would make an announcement that would shake the world.  He would be invited to go to China. Over the next six months all types of preparations would be made for the trip to be a success and both sides, talking different languages, with different cultures, and different ideologies politically, would work tirelessly to pull it off. <br/><br/>This is that story, the story of Richard Nixon's trip to China, how it happened, how it came together, and how in that one week he would open China and welcome it to the International stage.