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29.5 Nixon and the Cold War (Détente With the Soviet Union (SALT I did…
29.5 Nixon and the Cold War
Limits on US-soviet Arms race
Limits on U.S.-Soviet Arms Race Progress toward ending the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union was achieved with the signing of SALT I in 1972.
One part of the treaty froze each county's stockpile of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) for a five-year period.
Détente
Détente- Flexible diplomacy adopted by Richard Nixon to ease tentions between the united states and the soviet union and the peoples republic of China
A policy aimed at easing Cold War tensions, détente had replaced previous diplomatic efforts based on suspicion and distrust.
Nuclear Arms Treaty As Leonid Brezhnev (seated, right) looks on, President Nixon signs the SALT I treaty during his historic visit to Moscow.
Détente With the Soviet Union
SALT I did not end the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. But it was a giant step toward that goal.
However, by far the high point of the summit was the signing of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. Otherwise known as SALT I, the treaty froze the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and placed limits on antiballistic missiles (ABMs)
SALT 1- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty- 1972 treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union that froze the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and placed limits on antiballistic missiles.
The importance of SALT I stemmed first and foremost from U.S. and Soviet efforts to reduce tensions between them.
Nixon also announced plans to conduct a joint U.S.-Soviet space mission.
With his visits to China and the Soviet Union, coming within six months of each other, Richard Nixon dramatically altered America’s global strategy. He relaxed the nation’s inflexible stance toward communism and applied a more pragmatic approach to foreign policy.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev feared that improved U.S.-Chinese relations would isolate Russia. Therefore, he invited Nixon to visit Moscow. Nixon made the trip in May 1972. Afterward, the President reported to Congress that he and Brezhnev had reached agreements in a wide variety of areas
In the short term, the new relationships he forged helped the United States to end the Vietnam War. In the long term, Nixon’s foreign-policy breakthroughs moved the world a step closer to the end of the Cold War
Nixon’s trip to the People’s Republic of China prompted an immediate reaction from the Soviet Union, which had strained relations with both countries.
Reasons for Reaching Out to China
He recognized that establishing diplomatic relations with the Chinese communists would benefit the United States.
When the Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in 1949, the United States gave official recognition to the defeated Nationalist government that fled to Taiwan. Once President Nixon took office, that recognition would be given to China instead of Taiwan
Politically, U.S. normalization would drive a wedge between China and the Soviet Union, who had strayed from their traditional alliance and become rivals for territory and diplomatic influence.
He was the last politician Americans could imagine to extend the olive branch of recognition—and thus peace—to the communists.
From an economic standpoint, improved relations would bring significant trade agreements, especially benefiting California and the Pacific Coast.
You’re not going to believe this,” a Nixon aide told a journalist in 1969, “but Nixon wants to recognize China.” It was an odd, almost unbelievable, statement.
Finally, if the United States forged stronger relations with the Chinese, they might pressure North Vietnam to accept a negotiated peace to end the conflict still raging at the time
Nixon Normalizes Relations With China
In February 1972, the President made the trip and toured the Great Wall, the Imperial Palace, and other historic sites. Nixon sat down for lengthy talks with Zhou Enlai and Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. He even learned enough Chinese to make a toast in the language of his host country.
The visit was a great success and an important step toward normalizing diplomatic relations with China.
July 1971, Nixon announced that he would make an official state visit to China.
The following year, American tourists started visiting and American companies set up a thriving trade with China
In April 1971, China invited an American table-tennis team to play against its athletes. This small action demonstrated China’s willingness to talk
With so much to gain and so little to lose, Nixon quietly pushed ahead with his plans.
It bridged, as Zhou Enlai said, “the vastest ocean in the world, twenty-five years of no communication.” In 1979, the United States and China established full diplomatic relations
Nixon’s China trip was the high point of his presidency.
Nuclear Arms Treaty As Leonid Brezhnev (seated, right) looks on, President Nixon signs the SALT I treaty during his historic visit to Moscow.