Henry Kissinger visit China in secret on July 9, 1971On July 9, 1971, Henry Kissinger, Secretary of the States in US, set up his secret trip to China. This trip was to pave the way for the later Nixon’s visit to China, which turned to be a historical event in the history of Sino-American Relations.

Kissinger sought to place diplomatic pressure on the Soviet Union. He made two trips to the People’s Republic of China in July and October, 1971 to confer with Premier Zhou Enlai, then in charge of Chinese foreign policy. This paved the way for the groundbreaking 1972 summit between Nixon, Zhou, and Communist Party of China Chairman Mao Zedong, as well as the formalization of relations between the two countries, ending 23 years of diplomatic isolation and mutual hostility. The result was the formation of a tacit strategic anti-Soviet alliance between China and the United States. While Kissinger’s diplomacy led to economic and cultural exchanges between the two sides and the establishment of Liaison Offices in the Chinese and American capitals, with serious implications for Indochinese matters, full normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China would not occur until 1979, for reasons including the following: Watergate overshadowed the latter years of the Nixon presidency. Second, the United States also continued to recognize the Republic of China government on Taiwan.