President Richard Nixon's Relationship With China

When you look at the tag on your shirt, you will most likely discover that it was “Made In China.” About 21.1% of our manufactured products from China are exported to the United States. From the end of the Chinese Civil War to such events like the Tiananmen Massacre, our relationship with China improved to the point where we can call it an economically-based relationship. President Richard Nixon’s foreign policy with China has shaped the United States’ economy. Not only does the United States and China have the largest economies in the world, the global economy is shaped by their trading relationship. Even though we have diverging national security and foreign policy issues, was Nixon’s opening of relations with China a positive or negative …show more content…
President Nixon met with the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. Both leaders made an agreement to expand their cultural contacts with each other. In addition, Nixon established plans to allow a permanent U.S. trade mission in China. Because of President Nixon, the United States is the first country to be interested in having political and economic ties with China during the 19th Century. Since the United States wanted to prevent the control of China from Russia, France, Germany, and Great Britain, those countries opposed this foreign interaction at first. During his one week visit in China, President Nixon also interacted with Mao Zedong. According to an observer, Mao Zedong told Nixon that "I believe our old friend Chiang-Kai shek would not approve of this” (History of China, Britannica Database page 30). Many opposed the leaders’ interaction about foreign trade but once the Open Door Policy came into play, many accepted this relationship. According to Nixon, he stated that the week he stayed in China was “the week that changed the world, as what we have said in that Communique is not nearly as important as what we will do in the years ahead to build a bridge across 16,000 miles and 22 years of hostilities which have divided us in the past. And what we have said today is that we shall build that bridge" (Encyclopedia: “Nixon Foreign Trade,” page 8). The interpretation of this quote is revolved around Nixon’s mentioning of “the bridge.” Richard Nixon stated this in Shanghai and the bridge that he mentioned refers to the restored relationship between China and the United States. Due to the legacy of President Nixon, the United States created an economic-based relationship with the People’s Republic of