ABSTRACT
In November 1968, Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States. On the surface, it seemed unlikely that Nixon would one day become the American president who would open up relations with the People's Republic of China. Nixon was the first American president to alter his view of China while in office, but he was by no means the last. The tensions between die former Communist allies opened up new possibilities for the United States. Both the USSR and the PRC were looking for support, and neither wanted the other to gain powerful allies. The two issues that would come to dominate US-China relations. Taiwan and the USSR were both discussed. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai willingness to postpone settlement of the Taiwan question was a great act of statesmanship. The relationship between Zhou and Henry Kissinger made possible the formation of another important relationship, one that would revolutionize US-China relations.
