Negotiating with the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks During the Cold War, 1949-1972

"A very good attempt to give a coherent and consistent account of the China-U.S. contacts during the Cold War. . . . [R]eaders will certainly gain a better understanding of this interesting and intricate history." ―Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese Ambassador to the United States

Few relationships during the Cold War were as dramatic as that between the United States and China. During World War II, China was America's ally against Japan. By 1949, the two countries viewed each other as adversaries and soon faced off in Korea. For the next two decades, Beijing and Washington were bitter enemies. Negotiating with the Enemy is a gripping account of that period. On several occasions―Taiwan in 1954 and 1958, and Vietnam in 1965―the nations were again on the verge of direct military confrontation. However, even as relations seemed at their worst, the process leading to a rapprochement had begun. Dramatic episodes such as the Ping-Pong diplomacy of spring 1971 and Henry Kissinger's secret trip to Beijing in July 1971 paved the way for Nixon's historic 1972 meeting with Mao.

Yafeng Xia is Assistant Professor of East Asian and Diplomatic History at Long Island University.