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The forgotten beginnings of US-China diplomatic relations

In the shadow of Cold War tensions, covert diplomatic talks took place in Warsaw from 1958 to 1970 between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. These talks, today largely forgotten, laid the foundation for a rapprochement that would change the course of global politics in the 1970s.

The 1950s were an immensely complex decade for global geopolitics. Numerous African and Asian nations started to regain their independence, redefining the old colonial world order and thus weakening past colonial superpowers, such as the United Kingdom or France. Above all, however, the new world order was emerging, dominated by the duopoly of the United States and Soviet Union and a visible division of spheres of influence between them.

November 21, 2024 - Konrad Szatters - History and MemoryIssue 6 2024Magazine

President Ford and daughter Susan watch as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger shakes hands with Mao Tse-Tung; Chairman of Chinese Communist Party, during a visit to the Chairman’s residence. Photo (CC) commons.wikimedia.org

While US policymakers were mostly focused on the actions of the USSR, the Soviet Union was not the only Eurasian country present on their radar. Even further from the US, another emerging power started to capture the attention of US policymakers – the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In its early years, the PRC was seen as a mystery to the West, and US officials in Washington were unsure about how to approach this newly formed communist state led by Mao Zedong. Little did they know that the diplomatic steps vis-à-vis the PRC that they were about to take would reshape the global order, and their effects would still be felt today in 2024.

The Cold War context

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