From Nixon’s opening to strategic rivalry, U.S. presidents’ visits reflect shifts in bilateral relations.
More than half a century after Richard Nixon’s trip to Mao Zedong’s China, which marked the thaw between the two countries in 1972, U.S. President Donald Trump will end nearly a decade without visits by American leaders to the Asian giant with his trip to Beijing this week.
The trip will take place at a time of growing strategic rivalry, marked by trade, technology and security tensions. The visit revives a diplomatic practice that has accompanied the evolution of bilateral relations since the Cold War.
These are the main visits by U.S. presidents to China since the beginning of the bilateral thaw:
Nixon: Opening and the Shanghai Communique
February 1972.- Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to visit communist China and meets with Mao Zedong and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
The signing of the Shanghai Communique lays the foundations for the rapprochement by stating that the United States declared it acknowledged that “all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China,” a key principle for the later development of the relationship, following previous contacts such as the so-called “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which marks its 55th anniversary in 2026.
Ford: Continuity of Bilateral Rapprochement
December 1975.- Gerald Ford travels to Beijing to consolidate the process launched by Nixon and reaffirms the goal of normalizing relations at a time of political transition in China during Mao Zedong’s final years. The trip keeps channels of dialogue open without substantial progress.
Reagan: Pragmatism Despite His Anti-Communism
April-May 1984.- Ronald Reagan, who had defended firmly anti-communist positions and shown support for Taiwan before taking office, makes the first visit after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979.
The trip results in agreements in areas such as civilian nuclear cooperation and reflects a pragmatic rapprochement between the two countries in the face of the Soviet Union.
Bush Sr.: Before the Tiananmen Crisis
February 1989.- George H.W. Bush, who previously served in Beijing as head of the U.S. liaison office, visits China weeks before the Tiananmen crisis. The trip seeks to strengthen bilateral relations and is marked by that subsequent context.
Clinton: Normalization After Tiananmen
June-July 1998.- Bill Clinton makes the first presidential visit after the 1989 crisis, in a trip symbolizing the reactivation of political ties.
The agenda includes human rights, trade and security, and features a televised debate with Jiang Zemin that publicly exposes the differences between the two countries.
Bush Jr.: Terrorism, Trade and the Olympic Games
2001-2008.- George W. Bush makes four visits during a period that combines cooperation after the Sept. 11 attacks with growing trade tensions following China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.
His trips include bilateral meetings and multilateral forums, as well as his attendance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, during China’s growing international projection.
Obama: Climate and Managing Rivalry
2009-2016.- Barack Obama visits China on three occasions as strategic competition and Beijing’s global weight increase.
Meetings with his Chinese counterparts address the economy, security and regional disputes, with advances such as the climate agreement announced in 2014.
Trump: State Visit and Trade Tensions
November 2017.- Donald Trump makes a state visit to Beijing focused on trade and North Korea, accompanied by enhanced protocol that includes events at the Forbidden City, where his counterpart, Xi Jinping, highlights before him the “thousands of uninterrupted years” of Chinese civilization.
The trip precedes the deterioration of relations that leads to the tariff war between the two countries about four months later.
The ‘Great Gap’: Pandemic and Bilateral Deterioration
2017-2026.- No U.S. president visits China during this period, which some international studies and analysis centers have described as a “gap” in bilateral relations, in a context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising political, technological and trade tensions.
Joe Biden does not travel to the country during his term, but although there are no visits to China, contacts at the highest level continue in international forums and third countries.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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