China, US mark 50th anniversary of Nixon's China Trip

Chinese and American dignitaries gathered at the birthplace of Richard Nixon to mark the 50th anniversary of the former US president's historic visit to China.

China's Ambassador to the US Qin Gang was joined by former US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy, China's Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping and around 400 other guests at a special banquet Thursday night at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.

"History is our best guide. It faithfully records the past journey and gives us inspiration for the future. President Nixon's pragmatic diplomacy culminated in this monumental visit 50 years ago, and his legacy still serves as an important reference today," Qin said.

Over the last 43 years of diplomatic relations, the two countries have grown into "a close-knit community with inseparable economic interests," and China-US relations have become just "too big to fail", the ambassador said.

He emphasized that the two countries share many common interests, such as two-way trade, cross-border investment by companies, students studying abroad, as well as sister-cities relations. He pointed to global challenges such as climate change, energy security, food security and the pandemic as "the common enemy" that China and the US should tackle together.

"The new 'Cold War' should not be used to define the time we live in. Competition and confrontation should not be the keynote of China-US relations," Qin said.

The trip is Qin's first official one to the West Coast since assuming the post of China's top envoy to the US last July.

He made a reference to the recent Super Bowl victory by the Los Angeles Rams, saying:  "But China-US relations should not be like the intensely confrontational American football match. There should be no offensive team or defensive team, no touchdown, no quarterback sack." The comment met with applause from the audience across the room.

Qin compared the relationship to interactions between American and Chinese athletes at the Beijing Winter Olympics, saying that there are no losers, but all winners in the relationship.

On Feb 21, 1972, Nixon became the first US head of state to set foot on the Chinese mainland since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, reopening the door to Sino-US diplomatic relations.

The visit by the 37th US president ended more than 20 years of no communication and hostility between the US and China. It paved the way for the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué, a cornerstone of Nixon's visit, which set the stage for normalization of relations between the two countries.

Former US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said the Nixon visit had a profound personal impact on millions of Chinese Americans and the Chinese diaspora around the world.

"For many Chinese around the world, President Nixon's opening of China made possible the reunification of long-lost loved ones," she said, adding that her family was among those reunited.

The US-China relationship is at its "most tense" since the days before Nixon's visit and Asian-Americans have been caught in between the two countries' tensions, she said.

"The US-China relationship has profound implications for world peace and prosperity. There is no other choice but to manage our very real differences, peacefully and productively," Chao said.

Stapleton Roy, who served as the US ambassador to China from 1991 to 1995, told the audience that Nixon's visit to China was a "master stroke of diplomacy" that altered the course of the Cold War in a manner favorable to US interests.

"But above all, it illustrated the vital importance for diplomacy of leaders who can rise above conventional thinking, spot opportunities and act decisively in pursuit of a strategic objective. Qualities all too rare in world history," he said.

Roy encouraged the US to challenge pessimistic assumptions to create better opportunities for both countries as they mark the 50th anniversary of Nixon's trip to China.

Dr Henry Kissinger, 98, who served as Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, delivered his message to the audience via video due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

He recalled the "strategic thinking" behind Nixon's visit to China and the communications between Chinese and American leaders that made the visit possible.