7 Days in Diplomacy; this Week in Chinese History

This day, 21 February, in 1972, US President Richard Nixon began a historic visit to China. The New York Times that day wrote of his reception, “The President received a studiously correct but minimal official welcome as he began...

This day, 20 February, in 1958, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army issued a statement announcing that it would withdraw from North Korea in batches before the end of that year. In his farewell speech to the first officers and...

This day, 19 February, in 1997, Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of China’s socialist reform, opening up and modernisation drive, and an outstanding international strategist and diplomat, passed away. Inheriting and developing the diplomatic thoughts of Mao Zedong and Zhou...

This day, 18 February, in 1992, during Deng Xiaoping’s tour of southern China, he said, “If it takes 100 years from the founding of the People’s Republic of China to build our country into a moderately developed country, that...

This day, 17 February, in 1973, Mao Zedong met with Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor to US President Richard Nixon, in Zhongnanhai in Beijing. During the visit, the two sides agreed it was the right time to set up...

This day, 16 February, in 1949, the CCCP stated, “Due to the liberation of Tianjin and other important seaports, many foreign commercial institutions and those in the Kuomintang region demand to trade with us. In order to quickly recover...

This day, 15 February, in 1972, saw the passing of Edgar Snow. Some of his ashes would be buried by Weiming Lake at Peking University, while Ye Jianying would later personally inscribe a monument for him, writing, “The Tomb...