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The Rhodesia Herald,
July 20, 1971
PRESIDENT Nixon today played down the possibility that his trip to Peking would speed the end of the Vietnam War.
During a briefing he gave to bi-partisan congressional leaders, he said he would not speculate on the outcome of his journey to Peking or on the effect it would have on other matters, the White House reported.
Observers interpreted this as an attempt to stop speculation of the kind voiced yesterday by the Republican Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, who said he believed that the trip to Peking would have a beneficial effect on President Nixon’s efforts to settle the Indo-China conflict.
The President met for nearly-two hours with leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives over breakfast at the White House.
Dr Henry Kissinger, who made a secret trip to Peking a week ago, attended the session.
The Senate Democratic leader, Mr Mike Mansfield said later: “It is safe to say that no secret agreements were entered into (by Dr Kissinger in Peking) and no promises were made.”
LESSONS FOR TODAY
President Nixon was the first US President to visit China since it was established as the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Peking now Beijing, is the capital of the People’s Republic of China.
Americans hoped that Nixon’s visit would lead to a new era of peaceful relations.
Some nations like Taiwan saw the visit to Beijing by Nixon as a shabby deal taken without proper consultation with the Chinese Government.
The Vietnam war is one of the many military aggressions, which has shown the United States of America’s overarching interference in the affairs of other countries. We continue to see the US still meddling in the internal affairs of other nation states, including China.
Facing impeachment over the Watergate scandal, Nixon became the first sitting president to resign from office.
Apart from Vietnam, America’s top diplomat Henry Kissinger was involved in a number of diplomatic manoeuvres in other countries including Zimbabwe. Historians need to show the extent of Kissinger’s diplomacy in Zimbabwe — then and now.
Online Reporter