When Nixon Met Mao

Richard M. Nixon, the disgraced, personality-challenged 37th President of the United States, was not famous for introspection. But in 1993 he reflected: "I will be known historically for two things. Watergate and the opening to China."

Watergate has been supplanted by Monicagate and other Washington scandals, but the relationship between China and the U.S. is still big news. Given today's trade and diplomatic ties between these two giants, it is worth recalling that just 35 years ago American policy held that "China" was the small island called Taiwan, and that Washington regarded the mainland as a hostile, totalitarian...