ABSTRACT
Sun had read the articles. He said that my position in favoring diplomatic recognition had been, of course, correct from China's standpoint, even for the worst period of Mao, Gang of Four, and Red Guard dominion. All Chinese, "except a few idiots," favored diplomatic links with the United States. China needed a normal relationship with the United States if for no other reason than because of the unsustainable cost of a military establishment able to cope alone with the threat of the Soviet Union. China needed a relationship with the United States in order, also, to achieve other goals—economic growth, technological modernization, and effective participation in the world economy. Of course the United States should also have favored normal diplomatic relations with China.
