Nixon goes to China

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Nixon in China (disambiguation).

President Richard Nixon shakes hands with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

The phrase "Nixon goes to China", "Nixon to China", or "Nixon in China"

Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong
. Its basic import is that Nixon's well-established reputation as an anti-Communist "hawk" gave him political cover against domestic criticism for a move that might have been portrayed as conciliating a geopolitical rival. The metaphor is often expressed as the observation "Only Nixon could go to China" or "It took Nixon to go to China".

Context

The phrase had originated before Nixon's actual visit to China. An early use of the phrase is found in a December 1971

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Mansfield in a section summary lead that read, "'Only a 'Nixon' Could Go to China." The actual quote from Mansfield, which he prefaces by noting he had heard it said earlier, was "Only a Republican, perhaps only a Nixon, could have made this break and gotten away with it."[2] Nixon had developed an extensive record of opposing communism from his early days in the House of Representatives, including serving on the House Un-American Activities Committee, sponsoring the Mundt–Nixon Bill to require Communist Party members to register with the government, and personally spearheading the prosecution of alleged Soviet spy Alger Hiss
.

When he met President Nixon, Chairman Mao also joked that "I voted for you during your last election." Nixon laughed and said "you voted for the lesser of two evils,"[3] and Mao replied, "I like rightists, I am comparatively happy when these people on the right come into power."[3][4][5]

Outcome

Main article: 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China § Aftermath

Nixon's visit to China and Shanghai Communiqué was of particular significance because it marked the beginning of a thaw in China–United States relations.[6]

Internationally, Nixon's visit played a role in leading to the September 1972 Japan–China Joint Communiqué between Mao Zedong and Kakuei Tanaka.[7][8] During the negotiation, Mao also stated that he preferred the "rightist" party in Japan as well as the United States.[9]

In politics, economics and history

The Nixon going to China phenomenon has also been compared to a more generic spectrum of left-wing and right-wing policies, and a proposed "Nixon paradox" describing which policies are difficult to implement based on a politician's declared values (left or right primarily).[5] Two theoretical economic models [10][11] suggest that these surprising policy initiatives can politically benefit the policy initiator. Assuming that politicians who are in power have superior information concerning the effects of policies, if new information is obtained supporting a right-wing shift in policy, a left-wing politician can more credibly signal that the policy is an appropriate course of action than a right-wing politician, because ‘‘voters will infer that the left-wing politician is motivated by objective facts, rather than his party’s natural ideological tendencies’’.[12] This phenomenon was empirically supported in two experiments conducted in Germany and Israel. Politicians who adopt policies that are incongruent with their policy reputation enjoy a more favorable public reaction.[13]

Similar historical events (pre-1972)

Similar political events (post-1972)

In popular culture

The expression was used in the 1991 film

Klingons and a personal enmity for them after his son's death, should escort their chancellor to Earth for peace negotiations with the Federation.[29][30]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Naím, Moisés (September 1, 2003). "Berlusconi Goes to China". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on April 8, 2005. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "A Size-Up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader". U.S. News & World Report. December 6, 1971. p. 61.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8157-2443-8. Archived
    from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  4. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  5. ^
    S2CID 154204997. Archived
    from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "Easing China-US Tensions: Lessons From Nixon's 1972 Trip". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "EXCERPT OF MAO ZEDONG'S CONVERSATION WITH JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER KAKUEI TANAKA". digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org. Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "Michael Schaller: Working Paper No. 2". nsarchive2.gwu.edu. Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "MAO ZEDONG, 'SETTLEMENT OF THE QUESTIONS OF RESTORATION OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN STILL DEPENDS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY'". digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  10. S2CID 154204997
    .
  11. JSTOR 116824
    .
  12. S2CID 35271495
    .
  13. S2CID 254935357
    .
  14. History Channel
    . 2005. Event occurs at 42:00–42:30. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  15. ISBN 9780805069518
    – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ a b c Elkin, Larry M. (September 12, 2011). "On Social Security, A Nixon-To-China Moment". Wall Street Pit. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  17. JSTOR 2756610
    .
  18. ISBN 9780684848167. Archived
    from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  19. ISBN 9780595239443. Archived
    from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  20. ^ Greenway, HDS (April 28, 2009). "Hitting the 'Reset' Button". GlobalPost. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  21. ^ Sunstein, Cass R. (October 8, 2012). "In Praise of Turncoats, Richard Nixon to John Roberts". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  22. ^ "Good leadership is hard to find: John Howard saw the right thing to do for Australia on gun control". April 15, 2016.
  23. ^ Hoagland, Jim (September 14, 2002). "Bush Delivers on All Counts in Speech, Now It's Up to UN". Eugene Register-Guard. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020 – via Google News.
  24. ^ Chapman, Steve (February 17, 2007). "George W. Bush's 'Nixon to China' Moment". National Ledger. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  25. ^ "American's Nuclear Deal with India: Time to Decide". The Economist. August 28, 2008. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
  26. ^ Krauthammer, Charles (June 28, 2012). "Why Roberts Did It". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  27. ^ Freedman, Lawrence (April 30, 2018). "Trump-Goes-to-Korea Is the New Nixon-Goes-to-China". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  28. ^ The quote appears at 4:10 in this 4:59 clip from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW9WGibEF04 Archived April 10, 2019, at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ISBN 978-1-4391-1787-3. Archived
    from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  30. ISBN 978-1-85109-923-8. Archived
    from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
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