Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency Essay

Richard Nixon is unmatched of the almost(prenominal) disputable figures in American history. His presidency is remembered most for the Watergate scandal and his subsequent resignation extendd if some of his hostile policies forever altered American world-wide diplomacy. One of the study policies that professorship Nixon was responsible for was changing the record of the fall in States traffichip with china. He did this by setting into motion c all overt diplomaticalal actions and cultural ex sacques amidst the two countries. Nixons reasons for improving dealingships with the Communist regime was to chock up the Soviet inwarfaredness to be more accommodating to American demands and to withal alleviate contain the war in Vietnam. another(prenominal) reason for improving relations was in truth ain for Richard Nixon. He wanted to disposition his power as an international solon to the initiation and American public. American/Chinese relations for many di visions were c turn uphie and involved the trade of goods and ideas. American missionaries had g angiotensin converting enzyme(a) to mainland mainland china to build churches and hospitals. The two countries were consort against the Japanese during World farming of war II. after(prenominal)wards the war end the fall in States was not an ally of china as a whole barely one political scienceal group, the Kuomintang.The Kuomintang, lead by Chang Kai Shek, were in battled in a civil war with the Chinese commies who would flattually win step up. Chang Kai Shek would take his government to the island of Taiwan. by and by the civil war, the United States besides do itd Changs nation of mainland China and kept the Peoples Republic of China, led by Mao Ze-Dong, out of the United Nations and other international bodies. This led to an isolation of China by a majority of the international community. The only diplomatic relations the United States had with China were with int ermediary countries. mend relations with the United States were sour, the Chinese relationship with the Soviet nub had quickly deteriorated. Both China and the Soviet Union were communist countries but their ideologies were genuinely different. Their relationship slowly became strained and two(prenominal) countries started to build up military on their common border through the 1960s.After the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia and rel consolationd the Brezhnev school of thought, which stated that the Kremlin had the right wing to correct deviationism in other communist countries by army intervention, the Chinese no persistenter considered the Soviet Union as an ally. This led to violent border clashes between the two countries in March 1969. By the end of 1969 the Soviet Union had over a million troops stationed along the Soviet/Chinese border and missiles aimed at major Chinese cities. The year in the first place, a former republican vice-president from California, R ichard Nixon, was elected president. He had made a name for him self in Congress as a leading anti-communist and he went on to deal out as vice-president beneath Dwight D Eisenhower. dismantle before he was elected president, Nixon had express interest in opening up relations with China despite his introductory negative views of socialism.In 1967 he wrote an phrase for contrary Affairs magazine where he stated We simply cannot afford to set out China forever outside the family of nations, thither to nurture its fantasies, cherish its hates and threaten its neighbors. there is no place on this dainty proposeet for a billion of its potentially most able people to unrecorded in angry isolation. After his preference as chair Richard Nixon decided to chip in China one of the primary focuses of his inappropriate policy. One of his primary reasons for doing this was to gain an speed hand in the direct 20-year-old algid War with the Soviet Union. The Soviets had taken o ver several Eastern European countries and turned them into communist states in an attempt to verbalize the world the victoryes of Communism. Also by the ripe 1960s the United States was no longer confident that it could win a war with the Soviet Union since they had had the two decades since the here and now World War to regain it military strength. This required the United States to piss to pitch strategies in dealing with the Soviet Union. They now had to shift their focus to gaining China as an ally.The State Department in the pass of 1969 began to announce various unilateral gestures of reconciliation. many another(prenominal) restrictions on travel and trade were lifted. This would keep back out know as Ping niff diplomacy. It was so named after the United States table tennis team was invited to the Chinese capital in April of 1971. During their reduce the group was treated as though they were dignitaries or royalty. They played matches against the Chinese team but also call ined great(p) landmarks through out China. The American military commission was accompanied by members of the press and was well-nigh watched by the American public. At a banquet for the visiting Americans, Chou En-Lai, the Chinese au tiptopsy told the group, Exchanges between our two countries gravel been cut murder for a long sentence but now, with your acceptance of our invitation, you have opened a sensitive scalawag in the relations of the Chinese and American people. While the American ping-pong players were the express of the media, behind the scenes Nixon was putting into action his plan to improve relations with China.He did this by employing his National Security Advisor, henry Kissinger, to stigma cover version communications with the Chinese government. beforehand the table tennis players had ever set leg it in China and at the offset of his presidency Nixon had Kissinger prepare a say on the feasibility of improving American/Chinese relation s. Originally Kissinger was hesitant some the idea of talks with China withal being quoted as saying this unrestrained guy really does want to chasten relations with China. But even Kissinger knew that an bond paper between the United States and China could shift the international political powers more in favor of the United States and a counselling from communism and the Soviet Union. One of the biggest roadblocks to improving relations with China was the resultant role of Taiwan. Since the Chinese civil war ended the United States had only recognized the government of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan.So even as Nixon is trying to improve relations with communist China there is still the issue that the United States does not officially recognize the Peoples Republic of China as a legitimate government. To ease some of Chinas concerns, Nixon instructs his political science to terminate navel patrols in the successive of Taiwan. Also in a tuner address that Nix on gave on February 25, 1971 regarding his congressional unusual policy report he reiterated some(prenominal) his figure to protect Taiwan but open up talks with China. We go forth search for consecutive discussions with Communist China while maintaining our defense commitment to Taiwan. When the presidential term of the Peoples Republic of China is ready to engage in talks, it will find us receptive to agreements that and the legitimate national interests of China and its neighbors.A visit to China was next on Nixons foreign policy agenda. He announced his intentions in 1970, taking overmuch of the world by surprise oddly the Soviet Union. He negotiated this visit primary by secretly sending Henry Kissinger to Beijing in July of 1971. Kissinger made this covert excursion by faking illness on a diplomatic visit to Pakistan and flight to China to convey Nixons intention to post-mortem examination Zhou En-Lai. It was decided that president Nixon would visit the chase yea r. On February 21, 1972, Richard Nixon became the graduation exercise United States president to visit China.The following week would be get under ones skin known as the week that changed the world. President Nixon would only get word with an ailing Mao Ze-dong one time during his visit but it would set in motion events that would lead to United States intelligence of Maos government and an end to the Cold War. The visit ended with both countries issuing the Shanghai Communiqu. In this account both countries pledged to work towards normalization of relations. The United States also agreed to stumble military forces from Taiwan. Shortly after the delegations harvest from their visit to China, Richard Nixon tasked Henry Kissinger with negotiating arms treaties with the Soviet Union. With the well-publicized visit closely watched by the Soviets the United States now had more bargaining power. In 1972, Kissinger negotiated the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks. The two Cold-War first-rate powers agreed that they would begin limiting missiles, atomic arms, and deli very systems. With his relative success in negotiating deals with both China and the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon was smart that he would have the same success in negotiating a deal with pairing Vietnam to end the Vietnam War.Going into his re-election campaign in 1972 the United States had been at war in Vietnam for 12 years, over 50,000 had been killed, and billions of dollars had been spent. His first major policy regarding Vietnam that Nixon put into place was the Nixon dogma. The Doctrine had three major tenants. First, the United States would applaud all of its treaty agreements. Secondly, the United States would nominate a shield if a nuclear power threatened an ally or a country the United States deemed to be vital to its national security. And, lastly, the United States would provide military and economic aid to countries under treaty agreements, but the requesting nation would be expected to bear primary business to provide the manpower for its own defense. The Nixon Doctrine led to the with playal of ground troops from Vietnam and training the force of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in defense of their own country.Nixon had also hoped that his new treaties with China would help to isolate the trades union Vietnamese and convince them to sign a peace treaty. In 1973, a cease-fire was negotiated at the Paris Peace Accords and ended United States involvement in Vietnam. nonetheless this did not stop the spread of communism to south Vietnam. Nixons improved relations with China were bigly unsuccessful in there being a constructive resolution of the Vietnam War. While the entire instalment of the Vietnam War was seen as a crack on Richard Nixons organization he was still very concerned close his image not only among the American public but on the world stage as well. He wanted to use his visit to China to draw attention to his expertise as a global statesman. Among the people that accompanied Nixon on his trip to China was White kin Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman.While Nixon was meeting mostly with Chinese Premier Zhou and negotiating agreements, Haldeman and Nixons wife wily toured factories and schools throughout China. Mrs. Nixon was followed by a large group of press. Bob Haldeman was in guide of making their visit look very positive to the American public. Margaret MacMillan writes in her defy Nixon in China, The images flowed back to the United States, targeted for prime-time flush television set. It was a presidential election year at home and Haldeman wanted to make certain that Nixon shone out as the great leader and statesman. From the very beginning of his Presidency Richard Nixon always wanted to be seen in a positive light in particular his portrayal in the media. He tasked members of his stave with combating any negative comments said slightly him and manage any news nearly him. He bordered on neuro tic when it came to public image.His first week in office he formed a task called the Five O quantify group that was responsible for monitoring television programs for any negative comments near the President or his administration and defending them. With the Vietnam War and the protests to the end the war at the top of most news stories, Nixon needed to do something to get his name back in the limelight. Many believe that this a major factor for his motivation to reach out to China and his subsequent visit. During his time in China he made sure the entire trip was highly publicized. He did numerous photo opportunities at such places like the Great Wall and the veto City. The reception his visit received by the American public was very positive. This was their first view into the isolated nation in over 20 years. This view, however, was a conservatively scripted play put on by the Chinese government. This was their attempt to present a parvenue China, not one that was still su ffering from the isolationist policies of the ethnic Revolution.The Chinese officials responsible for showing China in a positive way had people picnicking outside of factories in the cutting cold listening to revolutionary harmony and then collected the radios they were listening to after the delegation left. These inconsistencies were noticed by a Canadian member of the press to which Premier Zhou had to quietly admit that this was reproach of them to do. But the idea of a New China would only help President Nixon portray to the world that America and China, even with such opposite political views, could come to an understanding. His visit took the entire worlds view off of Vietnam and on to him personally while he visited China. Kissinger had pled with President Nixon to not make his trip to China a media circus because of the usurpation it would have internationally with Americas allies and enemies.International reaction to the visit was mixed. The United States allies were mostly queer that they had been kept in the dark about the new relations. The British felt particularly offended that they were not informed before hand about the dealings press release on between the Americans and the Chinese. Even with the roughly cool reception in the international community about Richard Nixons visit to China it was still one of the most significant moments in United States foreign policy during the Cold War.Henry Kissinger wrote in his memoir On China, The reward for Sino-American balancing would not be a state of perpetual friendship or a harmony of values, but a rebalancing of the global equilibrium. Richard Nixon helped to accomplish this by improving relations with China in an effort to change the American relationship with the Soviet Union and end the Vietnam War. While his intentions were for both personal and professional gain, either way his foreign policies remain at the top of his successes as President. Nixons presidency is mostly remembered o f one wrought with corruption and following the Watergate scandal, he is still the only United States President to resign from office. He became known as politician that would use any way necessary to accomplish his goals but this also led to his downfall.BIBLIOGRAPHYBundy, William. A Tangled sack up The making of Foreign insurance policy in the NixonPresidency. New York, 1989.Chang, Gordon H.. Friends and enemies the United States, China, and the Soviet Union, 1948-1972. Stanford, Calif. Stanford University Press, 1990.Devoss, David A. Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Smithsonian . 33. no. 1 2002Keilers, John G. U.S. Army Military History Institute, Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization. plump change 2007. Accessed November 14, 2012. http//www.army.mil/article/3867/Nixon_Doctrine_and_Vietnamization/.Kissinger, Henry On China. New York Penguin Press, 2011. Print.MacMillan, Margaret. Nixon in China the week that changed the world. Toronto Viking Canada, 2006.Nixon, Richard. Miller Center, Radio Address nigh Second Annual Foreign Policy Report to the Congress . Last modified 1971. Accessed November 14, 2012. http//millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3875.Nixon, Richard M. Asia After Viet Nam. Foreign Affairs, October 1967. http//www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/23927/richard-m-nixon/asia-after-viet-nam (accessed October 18, 2012)Small, Melvin. The presidency of Richard Nixon. Lawrence University Press of Kansas, 1999.Walker, Anne Collins, John Eastman, and Elizabeth C Eastman. China calls paving the way for Nixons historic journey to China. Lanham, Md. Madison Books , 1992.