China – Elliott360

March 4, 2022March 8, 2022

50 years later: Richard Nixon’s Historic Visit to China

Two Elliott School faculty members who are leading international experts on U.S./China relations offer commentary on the 1972 foreign affairs breakthrough.

President Richard Nixon made one of the most significant foreign visits in the history of the United States 50 years ago when he traveled to the People’s Republic of China Feb. 21-28, 1972—ending two-plus decades of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two nations.

GW Today sat down with two leading international experts on U.S./China from the Elliott School of International Affairs to discuss the trip to Beijing 50 years later.

David Shambaugh, the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science and International Affairs and director of the China Policy Program, served the State Department and National Security Council during President Jimmy Carter’s administration. He also served on the board of directors of the National Committee on U.S./China Relations and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Asia-Pacific Council and other public policy and scholarly organizations. Before GW, he was senior lecturer, lecturer and reader in Chinese politics at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, where he also served as editor of The China Quarterly.

Robert Sutter, Professor of Practice of International Affairs, had a government career that lasted from 1968 until 2001. He served as senior specialist and director of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Congressional Research Service, the national intelligence officer for East Asia and the Pacific at the U.S. Government’s National Intelligence Council, the China division director at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Shambaugh and Sutter were asked questions, some the same and some different, separately for this article.

Q: At the time, what was the significance of Nixon’s visit to China?

Shambaugh: President Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972 was described at the time as “the week that changed the world.” While perhaps hyperbole, there is indeed truth in this characterization—for three principal reasons. First, it ended the 22-year estrangement and total lack of contact between both the governments and the people of China and the United States. It would take another seven years before official diplomatic relations would be consummated under the Carter administration—where I worked on the China staff of the National Security Council staff at the time—which in turn opened a wide variety of direct ties between our two societies, but the Nixon visit catalyzed the process. Second, with the American opening to China, other governments around the world, which had been part of the previous U.S. policy to isolate and contain China, now were free to open their own relations with the People’s Republic of China—thus, in a real sense, the Nixon visit not only opened U.S./China relations, but it also did much to open China’s own doors to the world that had been previously almost completely isolated. Third, the Nixon visit was a strategic stroke of genius and fundamentally altered the balance of power in the so-called strategic triangle (U.S., China, Soviet Union) at the time, aligning America and China against Moscow. That, in turn, led over time to the weakening of the Soviet Union, its collapse and end of the Cold War.

Q: How was the event viewed in the U.S. at the time? What about in China?

Sutter: It was a big news item, and it was widely applauded. Everyone thought this was a great idea. The Chinese were on their best behavior. It was all very cordial. And it was in the interest of both sides to look like they were very close. China was desperate. And China was under the gun from the Soviet Union. It was very much in the Chinese interest because they were very worried about the U.S. and Soviet Union.

Q: Did Nixon’s China policy and visit facilitate the creation of modern China?

Shambaugh: Indirectly, yes. Nixon’s visit facilitated China’s broader opening the world, notably the Western world. This brought China in direct contact with the world’s most developed economies—which have been central to the foreign investment, technology transfer, and professional exchanges that have all contributed much to China’s dynamic economic growth since. But it also took the death of [Chinse President] Mao [Zedong] and the coming to power of Deng Xiaoping in 1978 to relax the repression and xenophobia within China, so the country could take advantage of the door that Nixon and Mao initially opened.

Q: What would be comparable to Nixon’s visit today?

Sutter: I just want to reiterate the fragility of China (in 1972). This was a dangerous mission. They were taking a risk. But they must have had enough evidence that they felt the president could be secured, and they could get him out if they had to. It was like going to North Korea today. China then was a lot like North Korea today. Very secretive. There’s so many things you didn’t know. It was a gamble, in a way.

Q: Why does the Nixon visit still fascinate so many? And why is it important for students today to learn about it?

Shambaugh: The Nixon visit continues to fascinate, in part, because it was such great public theater—because it took place on live television. Here was a society (Communist China) that had been completely closed off from the world since 1949, having recently been convulsed by the cultural revolution (from 1966-76), literally opening itself up for others to peer inside. The drama of Nixon meeting Mao [Zedong], being feted in the Great Hall of the People, touring the Great Wall and signing the Shanghai Communique was all riveting theater. As for students today, I am currently teaching my graduate-level U.S./China relations course this semester, and we watched the film ”History Declassified: Nixon in China” earlier this month, and I also invited to class Winston Lord—who was Nixon’s and [former Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger’s close aide. He participated in Kissinger’s secret 1971 trip to Beijing, the Nixon visit itself, played a key role in negotiating the Shanghai Communiqué, and later became America’s ambassador to China from 1985 until 1989. The students loved it. So, yes, the Nixon visit is still very much alive, at least in my class in the Elliott School. As for what students can still learn from it, I would say that no matter how great a gulf or differences can be between governments or peoples, there is always the possibility of improving ties. This is something we should remember about U.S./China relations when they are as strained as they are today.

Q: Nixon self-described the visit as a “week that changed the world.” Looking back 50 years later and where the two countries are now, is that statement accurate, far off, or somewhere in the middle?

Sutter: It fundamentally changed the world at the time, but the world has also changed since, and China changed. Maybe the United States has changed too, but China has definitely changed. It’s just more powerful. We never knew, we outsiders never knew what China would do if it became very powerful. There was no evidence to back that up. But now we have evidence of it. That changes our perceptions and, and that’s what’s happened over the last few years.

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

Q&A with GW International Student on her Experience during the Coronavirus

First of all, how is your family?

My family is doing well in China. When COVID-19 broke out there in January and February, my city was locked down because it is near Wuhan, which is the most disastrous place. Like other people, my family had stayed at home for two months, and the only chance to go out was grocery shopping. However, there was a shortage of masks in China at one time, so I ordered some masks and shipped them from the US to China. It took around one month to get there! All in all, fortunately, as the regulation of locking down is removed currently, everything is normal back there, and my family did well throughout the entire outbreak.

When you were in the US, how have you been staying in touch with friends and family?

I often called my family to check if they were doing well, if there was something new, or if they needed anything that I could help with. I could stay in touch with my friends in China by chatting with them online and through social media. I knew staying at home for two months must be a hard thing for them, so I often talked with them to cheer them up. I would tell them what the situation in the US was, how’s my school life, and so on.

How have on-line classes been?

My on-line classes have been good so far. Except there are some glitches for one of my classes and the professor needs to cancel tomorrow’s class because she hasn’t found a solution to fix it yet. Other than that, on-line classes are great. I feel I can focus on the lecture more in some classes because I used to sit in the back of the classroom and the whiteboard was too small so that I couldn’t read words clearly. Now I can catch up with the professor better. And in one of my other classes, my professor invited a guest speaker. There was echo from my professor’s computer, so the guest just turned off the professor’s microphone, which was so funny because the professor could make facial expressions.

What have you been eating? Has your diet changed? Are you cooking more in the residence hall?

I went grocery shopping once a week. My diet basically stayed the same, because I used to cook in the dorm before. However, sometimes I don’t have any idea what to cook; my mind is completely blank. Sometimes the purpose of cooking is not to make it taste delicious; rather, it is to make me alive.

What is your favorite quarantine activity?

During this time, it gives me more time to watch movies and read books that I missed before. Also, I do some workout and yoga on my yoga mat. Besides my normal workout, I love to do some stretching poses. They really help me relax my body, because I hardly walk in the room.

What do you think will be better or permanently different once this over?

From my personal perspective, life will be normal and stay the same as it was before this happened. But I believe people will pay more attention to their personal health, because this thing really teaches people a lesson about that. So basically I think things will get better!

Can you provide little biographical information about yourself?

I was born in Chongqing, China. I have lived in the US for two years. I went to GW because it is a community where people connect closely and can feel a sense of belonging. Also, it is located in Washington, DC, which I believe is a comfortable place for living. I have a part-time job at the Elliott School of International Affairs in the Public Affairs department on campus. I love my work because it helps me get to know more people, improves my abilities in things like photography and video editing, and I learn more new things that I never knew before. My favorite thing about college in the US is that I can have a flexible schedule every week. In my high school back in China, I had a full study schedule every week and it always stayed the same. I used to go to class at 7:30 a.m. and end classes at 10:00 p.m. It is totally different in college in the US, because I can have spare time in the gym, club, and for other activities. Both ways work for me. What I would like to say is that living in another country and experiencing a different lifestyle is attractive to me, because I want my life to be varied and meaningful!

Editors Note: Willow is now safely back in China and in quarantine before she can rejoin her family. Until then, she continues to work remotely for the Public Affairs Department of the Elliott School of International Affairs.

November 29, 2018December 4, 2018

Three Elliott Faculty Members Prepare to Retire

This year, the Elliott School bids farewell to three long-serving faculty members poised to retire over the coming months. The Elliott community says thank you for your extraordinary teaching and exemplary service over the years.

Students of Professor Ed McCord once gave him the affectionate moniker “Warlord McCord,” in honor of his study of China’s warlords of the early 20th century. During his 25-year career at GW, Dr. McCord, Professor of History and International Affairs, has held almost every academic position that a member of our faculty could hold – deputy chair of the history department, director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, founder and director of the Taiwan Education and Research Program, vice dean, and acting/interim dean. He also served as associate dean for every constituency at the school, guiding faculty and students, overseeing research grants, pitching in on management and planning. A tireless and dedicated member of the Elliott community, Dr. McCord was often spotted striding vigorously to his classes.

In his 40 plus years of teaching, Professor Henry R. Nau has helped to shape the lives of hundreds of Elliott students. “He had a profound influence on my professional career,” said one former student. Dr. Nau, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, has held many positions. At GW, he directed the longest-standing Congressional exchange program between Members of the U.S. Congress, the Japanese Diet, and the Korean National Assembly. For this work, the Japanese government in 2016 awarded him its Order of the Rising Sun. Dr. Nau also served as special assistant to the undersecretary for economic affairs in the U.S. Department of State and was a senior staff member on the National Security Council during the Reagan administration. He excelled at showing to students how different theories of international affairs play a decisive role in explaining debates about world affairs.

An award-winning scholar of modern military history, Professor Ronald Spector was the first civilian to become Director of Naval History and head of the Naval Historical Center. He is both a prolific author and an educator with broad scope. In his nearly 30-year career at GW, he has taught courses on U.S.-East Asia Relations, World War II, the Vietnam War, and U.S. Naval History. His book At War At Sea: Sailors and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century (2002) received the Distinguished Book Award of the Society for Military History, and Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan (1985) won the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Prize for Naval History. “He has an awesomely dry sense of humor,” noted one of Dr. Spector’s former students. “He really knows his stuff [as] he served in Vietnam,” remarked another.

March 1, 2018March 6, 2018

David Shambaugh Speaks Out On China

Professor David Shambaugh is an internationally recognized authority on contemporary China and the international relations of Asia, with a strong interest in the European Union and transatlantic issues. He is also a prolific author, having published more than 30 books and 300 articles. We asked him to share his insights on the recent significant political developments in China.

Q: As a well-known and highly regarded China expert, do you agree with the US Department of Defense’s new strategy report claiming that China’s fast-growing technological and military capabilities make it a greater threat to America than terrorism?

A: Yes I do. Of course, they are both significant threats to American security. Terrorism is always a near-term threat, while China is more of a long-term potential threat. But China’s military capabilities are rapidly improving–and they already challenge US allies in the Western Pacific, as well as the ability of the US Navy and other military forces to operate in that theater. This is only going to increase over time.

Q: What is your opinion of China’s plans to remove presidential term limits from its constitution, allowing President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond his second term, which ends in 2023? What impact will the decision have on U.S. foreign policy in regards to China?

A: Well, this is another indication of Xi Jinping’s concentration of power in himself and continuing rollback of norms, regulations, and institutions inaugurated by Deng Xiaoping nearly four decades ago and rigorously adhered to since then. This is not good for the Chinese political system, and in my view weakens it. For the United States, and all of China’s other interlocutors, this means we will be dealing with Xi Jinping for a very long time to come–unless, he encounters health difficulties or is overthrown. Xi Jinping is a very powerful and strong leader for China, and he has a clear vision of how he wants to “make China strong again.” China is going to increasingly challenge the United States across the globe, and we had better have a sensible strategy to deal with it.

Q: In addition to being a GW faculty member, you are also a GW alumnus, having received your BA in 1977 from the Elliott School’s predecessor, the School of Public and International Affairs. What was the university like when you were a student here and how has it changed?

A: There has certainly been a lot of change in the forty years since I was an undergraduate on campus. The physical transformation of buildings and the classrooms has been a noticeable improvement. New institutions have also appeared–such as the Elliott School–while some have disappeared, such as the Institute of Sino-Soviet Studies. The establishment of the Elliott School, and its rising international reputation, has truly been a major accomplishment. Also, in those years, the university was almost totally a commuter university with little on-campus life — my impression is that there is much better campus life for undergraduates nowadays (including on Mount Vernon campus). Academically, the university was always good, but has gotten much better. The faculty hires are now much more rigorous, and we are attracting top scholars. All in all, as I walk across campus, I frequently reflect on the growth and changes in the university since I was an undergraduate exactly four decades ago.