ABSTRACT
The formulation of the 1968 Brezhnev doctrine and its application in Czechoslovakia did alarm the Chinese. In fact, it seemed at the Peking Summit that the Chinese were beginning to welcome a limited US presence in Southeast Asia in the face of the growth of Soviet power in Asia. The Shanghai communiqué referred to a number of Third World countries, besides Taiwan and Indochina that were of immediate concern in the bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington. The Chinese leaders attached great importance to the emerging Sino-American relationship, and Mao and Zhou Enlai were as eager for a relaxation of tension between Beijing and Washington as Nixon and Kissinger were. The bilateral relationship between Beijing and Washington developed fairly well, in spite of ideological and other deep differences, throughout 1972-1973, and important agreements relating to trade and cultural exchanges were signed during that period.
