298 { China’s Quest
that earlier policy of hostility and the embrace of a new era of cooperation.
Only after this dramatic handshake did other American personnel begin to
alight. The dramatic meeting was broadcast live to US television audiences,
the timing of arrival in Beijing having been arranged to fall in prime televi-
sion time in the United States.
Within an hour of Nixon’s settling in the Diaoyutai guesthouse, Mao sum-
moned the US president to meet him. Kissinger, upon receiving the summons,
wary of the image of the president, a barbarian envoy, being summarily called
before the emperor, tried to save dignity by raising a few matters of protocol.
Zhou would not have it and, showing uncharacteristic impatience, made it
clear the chairman expected Nixon to arrive promptly. The Americans com-
plied. The meeting between Mao and Nixon that followed was one of the most
dramatic events of twentieth-century diplomacy. The American composer
John Adams later wrote an excellent opera, Nixon in China, about the event,
using much of the actual verbiage exchanged by the leaders.
Mao received Nixon and Kissinger in his study lined with shelves of books
and manuscripts, with more of the same piled on the floor and tables. The
message to the Americans was that Mao had no need for the normal trap-
pings associated with great power. Mao, weak after a period of illness, stood
to greet Nixon, took and held for some time Nixon’s hand in his own hands,
and smiled beamingly while photographers recorded the event. The next day,
photos of Mao greeting Nixon were carried on the front pages of newspapers
across China. Mao made his point: he approved of the new, friendly relation
with the United States.
Mao evaded Nixon’s efforts to discuss either “philosophy” (i.e., broad views
of world affairs) or specific policy issues. Regarding “philosophy,” when Nixon
tried to turn the conversation in that direction, Mao sarcastically remarked
that since Kissinger was the only doctor of philosophy present, he should be
the main speaker. Regarding specific policy issues, Mao indicated that Zhou
Enlai or Qiao Guanhua would discuss such matters. The symbolism of Mao’s
friendly reception of the American president was far more important than
any verbal communication. The main point Mao made to Nixon was that
China and the United States did not now threaten one another.
At the present time, the question of aggression from the United States
or aggression from China is relatively small; that is, it could be said that
this is not a major issue, because the present situation is one in which a
state of war does not exist between our two countries. You want to with-
draw some of your troops back on your soil; ours do not go abroad.^21
Kissinger understood Mao’s reference to Chinese troops not going abroad
to indicate that China would not intervene in Vietnam. China, as noted ear-
lier, had recalled its forces from Vietnam in fall 1968. The point Mao was
making was this: the PRC and the United States were not enemies, while the