Shanghai Communiqué reframes US-China relations

The PRC invited the US table tennis team to visit after informal contact at an international tournament. “Ping-pong diplomacy” helped prepare public opinion for rapprochement, showing how symbolic...

Henry Kissinger arrived secretly in Beijing through a Pakistani diplomatic channel and met Premier Zhou Enlai. The talks prepared President Richard Nixon’s visit and began a major realignment in...

US President Richard Nixon announced that he would visit China, making public a dramatic opening after decades of estrangement. The rapprochement reflected triangular diplomacy with the Soviet Union...

The General Assembly voted to restore the People’s Republic of China’s rights at the United Nations and recognize its representatives as China’s representatives, replacing the Republic of China...

Nixon arrived in Beijing for a historic visit that culminated in the Shanghai Communiqué. The opening helped normalize relations and reconfigure Cold War diplomacy; it also showed how postcolonial and...

China and Japan issued a joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations. Japan acknowledged the PRC government as China’s sole legal government and stated its understanding of Beijing’s position...

At a UN General Assembly special session on raw materials and development, Deng Xiaoping described a “Three Worlds” framework and aligned China rhetorically with developing countries. His speech...

Mao died in Beijing after nearly three decades as the PRC’s paramount leader. His death closed a political era shaped by revolution, mass campaigns, state-building, famine, and the Cultural...

Hua Guofeng’s leadership arrested Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. The move ended the immediate succession struggle after Mao’s death and became the political marker for...

The State Council approved restoration of the national college entrance examination, allowing university entry to depend again on academic tests. The decision helped rebuild education and technical...