Nixon's China Game (2000)

Originally aired: 1-31-2000

(Reuploaded here for my archives and because you can only find this on VHS.)

When Richard Nixon entered the White House in 1969 no one, including his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, could have imagined he'd want to open relations with China. Nixon had gained his reputation as the ultimate cold warrior, and in this PBS documentary, the story of how his opening to China proceeded is carefully told. Insiders such as Kissinger and ambassador Winston Lord (who was then a young aide on Kissinger's staff) talk of the secret meetings that were required to arrange Nixon's visit to China in 1972. This was, of course, serious business, but an odd bit of humor creeps in: Kissinger, in the course of slipping from public view to secretly visit China, resorted to wearing a black hat, trench coat, and dark glasses. Having been invited to visit by the Chinese, Nixon then shocked the world by announcing in a live televised speech his intention to visit China. Archival films and photographs document the trip itself, which, according to American and Chinese officials who are interviewed, was the setting not merely for the public banquets and receptions broadcast to the world. Negotiations with the Chinese created fractures within the American delegation, one of which was smoothed out, oddly enough, by Chinese premier Chou En-lai. Nixon's China Game is an informative and entertaining look at a very important turning point in history.