Nixon visit shows need for care on ties

In February 1972, former US president Richard Nixon landed in Beijing in what was described as a diplomatic breakthrough.

The visit, after which the bilateral relations gradually thawed and improved, ultimately led to the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in early 1979.

Since then, a large number of US companies have entered China, and foreign investment including that from the US, has contributed significantly to China's economic takeoff.

"In the four decades since 1978, China achieved economic growth at a rate never before seen in any country," said David Law, professor and academic director of Global Partnerships at Keele University.

"This was the result of reform and opening-up," he said, adding that Chinese leaders at that time had started to invite scientists and economic experts from the US to work with their Chinese counterparts.

"The origin of this lies in the willingness of enemies to become friends."

With the US then seeking out new opportunities with China, Europe felt encouraged to improve relations with China, experts said of the period.

"The opening of the Sino-US relationship did give many European leaders more of an opportunity to see how they might also open up to China," said Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China at the University of Oxford. "Don't forget that many of them have already opened diplomatic relations. Britain opened diplomatic relations with China in 1950."

But Nixon's visit provided an opportunity for full diplomatic relations between Europe and China to be opened up and that was true for Sino-Japanese relations as well, he added.

Call for respect

Fifty years on, the Sino-US relations have changed, with tensions running high in recent years.

"China and the US have had numerous important differences recently," said Gayle Allard, professor of economics at IE University in Spain, adding that the two powers are set to face "more important" differences in the future, as China's economic strength grows, he said.

Experts called for "respect" for China's development as an increasingly important economic power and for nations to cherish the stability the international system that came with the improving China-US relations following Nixon's visit.

"China deserves respect. Without mutual respect, there will never be lasting peace," Law said. "The path-breaking efforts of the leaders of the US and China 50 years ago paved the way to a period of international agreement. We should not forget that there were many people on both sides who contributed to greater stability in the international system."

He added that today's diplomacy could take lessons from Nixon's era.

"It sometimes seems that leaders in Europe and the US do not trust China," Law said. "Perhaps they should study the history of the meetings in Shanghai in 1972 and look at how Nixon and Mao were able to overcome their differences."

Oxford's Mitter said there is still debate on whether the opening of US-China relations in 1972 was a good idea or not, but he said the meeting was inevitable.

"There is no way that a country the size and geopolitical significance of China could have been kept out of the global conversation," Mitter said. "It's also worth noting that full diplomatic relations took seven years, between 1972 and 1979. That happened under a different president, Jimmy Carter. So that's also a reminder that diplomacy is not always swift, but to be lasting it has to be done with a great deal of care and attention."