Overview of the U.S–China Relationship
Remarks by National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice
Allow me to start with a little bit of history. “There is special news this afternoon — you are lost.” That was how Zhou En-Lai greeted Henry Kissinger at their now-famous meeting in Beijing on July 9, 1971. The trip was a closely guarded secret. No one knew where Kissinger was — he had feigned an illness and decamped from a Pakistani airfield in the dead of night for face-to-face talks with the Chinese. He didn’t even pack a clean shirt for his 48-hour mission. But, that first meeting between President Nixon’s national security advisor and Chairman Mao’s Prime Minister led…
