Why did Richard Nixon want to improve relations with China?
1 Answer
Richard Nixon want to improve relations with China in order to reduce further conflicts between Communist countries including the Soviet Union in the face of its ongoing war with North Vietnam.
Explanation:
The United States was attempting to block alliances between Communist countries to mitigate the possibility of an ongoing or enlarged battle that could involve more countries. They were hoping that as relations with China improved, the US could isolate north Vietnam diplomatically.
Leaders of both the US and China were interested in cooperating due to the tension produced by the ever-strengthening of the Soviet Union during the time of the cold war.
Richard Nixon participated in a number of steps to signal rapprochement with China, including lifting travel and trade restrictions, re-starting Sino-US talks, and initiating private talks through an intermediary in Pakistan.
Nixon, Kissinger, and Rapprochement are here:
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/seventies/essays/united-states-and-china-during-cold-war
