In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

182 10 O n February 17, the president’s plane, which he had renamed Spirit of ’76 specifically for the summit, left Washington with Malraux’s words ringing his ears. Nixon recalled that Kissinger and Haldeman said that “there was almost a religious feeling to the messages we received from all the country, wishing us well.” The president told Haldeman that he had decided to eschew the presence of a military aide because he wanted a peaceful, rather than martial, gesture to begin the trip. Haldeman, he explained, must “work on getting every detail of that set out exactly right” because you never get second chance to make a first impression. Bad news awaited the president, however, as he was informed that neither a “big crowd [n]or hoopla” would be at the airport or during the motorcade into Beijing. Chapin and Haldeman had planned that Nixon would arrive at 11:30 a.m. Beijing time, or 10:30 p.m. eastern time on Sunday night in the United States, for maximum television exposure, and the plane arrived on time. Zhou awaited the president, and Nixon thrust out his hand and shook the premier’s, symbolizing the end of an era and the beginning of another. Nixon recalled that he had never heard the national anthem sound “so stirring to me as on that windswept runway in the heart of Communist China.” However , as the motorcade drove toward the guesthouse, he recalled that there was “virtually no attention at all” paid to his arrival. Indeed, it appeared that “people had actually been kept away from the motorcade route.” Haldeman saw a “large gathering of people” on a side street “being held off by a barrier .” Pedestrians and bicyclists “studiously paid no attention to us,” as if they “had been put there for the purpose of ignoring us.” The Americans saw huge portraits of Mao, Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin on buildings. Nevertheless, during their limo ride, Zhou said that “your handshake came over the vastest ocean in the world—twenty-five years of no communication.” At the residence in the guesthouse, Zhou again welcomed THE BEIJING SUMMIT the beijing summit 183 the president and the two engaged in “a fairly extended conversation,” mainly “an exchange of general humor, no real substantive points” while the others silently looked on. At 2:50 p.m. on February 21, Nixon and Kissinger sat down for their historic meeting with Mao and Zhou in Mao’s book-lined study at his residence in the Imperial City. “Mao,” Kissinger recalled, “just stood there, surrounded by books, tall and powerfully built for a Chinese. He fixed the visitor with a smile both penetrating and slightly mocking, warning by his bearing that there was no point in seeking to deceive the specialist in the foibles and duplicity of man. I have met no one, with the possible exception of Charles de Gaulle, who so distilled raw, concentrated willpower.” This was even more impressive, Kissinger wrote, “because it was so incongruous in relation to his physical condition.” Nixon recalled that his “girl secretary helped him to his feet,” and then the two shook hands, which Nixon called “the most moving moment,” because Mao held his hand for about a minute. Mao said, “I can’t talk very well.” “Everyone ,” including Zhou, “showed him the deference that was due to him.” After a few minutes of banter, Nixon said that Mao’s writings “moved a nation and have changed the world.” Mao graciously responded that he had only been able to change “a few places in the vicinity of Beijing” and praised Kissinger for his visits to the PRC. Kissinger in turn praised Nixon for setting “the direction” and working “out the plan.” After a few jokes about Kissinger’s penchant for secret diplomacy, Mao told Nixon that he had voted for him in 1968. Nixon responded that Mao had “voted for the lesser of two evils.” Mao objected, saying, “I like rightists . . . I am comparatively happy when these people on the right come into power.” Nixon answered, “Those on the right can do what those on the left talk about.” Kissinger said many on the left “are pro-Soviet and would not encourage a move toward the People’s Republic, and in fact criticize you on those grounds.” Mao agreed and noted that he had been opposed by “a reactionary group” who failed and “got on an airplane and fled abroad.” Nixon sympathized...

Share