Chapter 15 Handshake between "Dr. Mimeograph" and American Doctor——Deng Xiaoping and Kissing (3)

Deng Xiaoping said to Kissinger: "We don't have any manuals, only millet plus rifles. Your Excellency Doctor can study our cannons." In fact, Ford is not easy to be president.After Nixon resigned, he took over the presidency without being elected, so his political status is naturally very fragile. In addition, he only has two remaining terms in office, followed by the 1976 general election, and most of his energy will be used for campaigning.After Ford took over as president, he was not good at diplomacy. Although he knew that the public opinion circles were very critical of Nixon's practice of letting his old friend Rogers give up the position of secretary of state to Kissinger, he still wanted to use Kissinger again.So much so that Jimmy Carter once commented on Ford after he successfully ran for the presidency, saying that although this Republican government is high-sounding and imposing, it just can’t grasp the essence. “Take foreign policy as an example, Mr. Kissinger has become this The country's president, Mr. Ford, has shown a lack of leadership to grasp the present and future development of this country."

When Kissinger was interviewed by Ford, he suggested to Ford that he should meet Huang Zhen, director of the Chinese Liaison Office in Washington, on the first day of work.Ford took Kissinger's advice and met Huang Zhen on his first day at work.Ford said that he would continue to implement Nixon's China policy, follow the "Shanghai Communique" signed by China and the United States, and said that he would realize the normalization of relations between the United States and China during his term of office.Ford also wrote a letter to Mao Zedong, saying that his administration had nothing more important to do than "accelerate" the process of normalizing relations between the United States and China, and that Secretary Kissinger should visit Beijing to discuss the details of normalizing relations between the two countries.Huang Zhen knew in his heart that these were two gestures made by President Ford on the issue of China after he took office, so he telegraphed a report to Beijing that night.

Due to his domestic policy considerations, Ford was unable to advance the normalization of US-China relations before his victory in the 1976 general election, so he could only delay this issue.Therefore, after visiting Japan, South Korea and the Soviet Union, he agreed to send Kissinger to visit Beijing on the way back.This time, Kissinger, who is good at dealing with geopolitics, played a little "smart" and agreed to hold the US-Soviet summit meeting in a city on the Sino-Soviet border, and then visited Beijing immediately to emphasize the US-Soviet relationship Moderate influence on Chinese interests, thereby forcing China to accept U.S. political goals.This just shows that Kissinger did not fully understand the Chinese people. His actions can only make the Chinese people angry. It is impossible for Chinese leaders to abandon their principles.This is also destined for him to hit a soft nail in Beijing.

On November 25, 1974, Kissinger arrived in Beijing by special plane after the US-Soviet summit in Vladivostok.This time, Kissinger's whole family came, including his wife Nancy and his son and daughter.Kissinger had just got off the plane at the Capital Airport, when Qiao Guanhua who came to greet him shook hands and hugged him and said, "Doctor, when you came to Beijing in the past, you always came from the south or the east, but this time you came from the north. "Qiao Guanhua's words naturally have implication. Kissinger replied sharply: "I have been to China from the west, south and east, so this time I will try to come from the north."

Qiao Guanhua said: "I don't know if the doctor knows that the Siberian cold current that affects the weather in China comes from the north." On the night of Kissinger's arrival, he took his whole family, accompanied by Deng Xiaoping, to the hospital to visit Zhou Enlai who was hospitalized.Zhou Enlai asked Kissinger to send greetings to the sick Nixon, but he did not say to send greetings to Ford, the new president. Then, on November 26, 27, and 28, Deng Xiaoping and Kissinger held four consecutive rounds of talks.On the Chinese side was Foreign Minister Qiao Guanhua, and on the US side was George Bush, the new director of the Liaison Office in China.

At the beginning of the first round of talks, in order to ease the atmosphere of the negotiation, Kissinger pointed to the three thick summary manuals in front of him and said, "I will start to read these manuals to you from beginning to end." Deng Xiaoping said humorously: "Doctor, how many tons do these manuals weigh?" Kissinger played tricks: "It weighs several tons. There are a lot of preparations. This is just the opening remarks." Deng Xiaoping was alert and firm: "We don't have any manuals, we only have millet and rifles." When talking about the normalization of Sino-US relations, Deng Xiaoping said seriously: "I must fire a gun first."

Kissinger asked: "To me?" Deng Xiaoping said: "Whether it is an empty gun or a real gun, it depends on which one you like. That is, on this issue, as you said, you owe us." Under such circumstances, Kissinger still showed the US point of view.Kissinger said: "On the issue of normalization of relations between the United States and China, the question is how do we go through this process. I want to break down the problem we have into several parts: This is the issue of Taiwan's diplomatic status, the issue of diplomatic relations with us And the issue of our military presence in Taiwan and our commitment to Taiwan's defense. Our issues are different from Japan's, or, for that matter, any country with which you have formal diplomatic relations. First, we have formal For defense relations, there is a "Mutual Defense Treaty" between the United States and Taiwan; secondly, there is a large group of people in the United States who have historically been pro-Taiwan. To solve the problem of the normalization of US-China relations, there needs to be an alternative, that is, we maintain a liaison office in Taiwan and establish an embassy in Beijing; They all withdrew at the end of 1977. However, during the transitional period of troop withdrawal, we have not yet found a solution to the issue of the U.S.-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty. We hope that China will declare a peaceful liberation of Taiwan so that the U.S. can consider abandoning the U.S.-Taiwan defense relationship..."

Kissinger's point of view is clearly an obvious step backwards for the United States on the Taiwan issue.Deng Xiaoping was very displeased with this, and before Kissinger could finish speaking, he interrupted him and asked, "That's all?" Kissinger said: "Yes. It's fundamental, and it's because the United States has a legal problem." Deng Xiaoping pointed to Maimang: "Actually, this law was formulated by you, right?" Kissinger asked: "Which law?" Deng Xiaoping said: "You are the ones who make the law. It is the law of your commitment to Taiwan's defense. That is determined by you."

Kissinger replied: "Of course, it's totally true." Deng Xiaoping pointed out bluntly: "Okay. Since you can make laws, then naturally you can also abolish them." Kissinger said: "That's also true. Our view is not that that can't be done. Our view is those reasons I explained to you..." Kissinger hesitated.Deng Xiaoping said sternly: "Your consideration, in essence, is still a variant of 'one in one, one in one'!" Kissinger said: "Why is that?" Deng Xiaoping said: "The main reason is that your position has regressed and changed the position of the Liaison Office. The current situation is that you have established a Liaison Office in Beijing, we have also established our own Liaison Office in Washington, and you still maintain an ambassador in Taiwan. embassy. This in itself shows that the necessary conditions for normalization of relations do not yet exist. In other words, if you reverse the positions and have an embassy in Beijing and a liaison office in Taiwan, this is not the way to solve the problem. The people will come up with a In conclusion, this is actually a replica of 'One Taiwan One Central'. So we find it difficult to accept this proposal."

Kissinger said: "What we hope to achieve is to separate from Taiwan step by step..." "Obviously, the time for resolving the Taiwan issue is not yet ripe. As for the method of resolving the Taiwan issue, as far as resolving the Taiwan issue is concerned, assuming you sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the Taiwan issue should be left to us Chinese to resolve. As for us I believe Chairman Mao has made it very clear in his speeches on how to solve the Taiwan issue." Deng Xiaoping refused to budge. Kissinger said: "Chairman Mao, if I understand correctly, made two statements: one he believed that the problem would ultimately be resolved by force; but he also said that China could wait a hundred years for the problem to be resolved."

"Yes, he said that. Of course, the number of one hundred years is symbolic." Deng Xiaoping was not polite. Kissinger said: "Of course, I understand. What I will say is that in a hundred years, I will not be the Secretary of State." Deng Xiaoping said emphatically: "Chairman Mao Zedong has made it very clear that the resolution of the Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs and should be left to the Chinese." "I agree," Kissinger said. "That's exactly what I'm keeping as a record of the conversation." In these rounds of talks, after Deng Xiaoping and Kissinger extensively discussed other world issues such as nuclear weapons, conflicts in the Middle East, the Cambodian issue, Sino-Soviet relations, and the energy crisis, the topic returned to the normalization of Sino-US relations.Deng Xiaoping reiterated China's three principles for normalizing relations. Deng Xiaoping said: "Your Excellency, the Chinese side can only normalize Sino-US relations in accordance with the Japanese model. Once Washington terminates its "Mutual Defense Treaty" with the Kuomintang authorities, the Taiwan issue will become the internal affairs of the Chinese themselves. During this process We do not accept any form of judgment or guarantee, or any form of involvement. If you still need Taiwan, and you still have difficulties in your country, and it takes time, then we can wait." In the last round of talks held on the afternoon of November 28, the two sides talked about their understanding of the world situation.Kissinger said that because Europe and Japan cannot constitute a strong strategic force, the United States is basically on the "front line" of the world.Deng Xiaoping euphemistically refuted the notion that the United States was "on the front line" everywhere. Deng Xiaoping said: "...just now the doctor mentioned the issue of firing artillery several times. It seems that the doctor is very concerned about artillery fire." "I'm going to dig deep," Kissinger said. Deng Xiaoping said: "I am in favor of digging deep holes. But the artillery must be fired. The doctor said that the frequency and accuracy of the artillery fire have increased. Because of the improved accuracy, it is hard to say whether the artillery fire can be stopped. I think it is better to study the artillery fire." It is necessary to open whether it makes sense. So I thought it would be useful to bring this up for your attention. That said, the United States is now on the front line on many issues. Of course, the United States is not in the We are on the front line on all issues.” When Kissinger was about to say something, Deng Xiaoping looked at the time, suggesting that the talks should come to an end.Deng Xiaoping ended with a humorous sentence: "Your Excellency is interested in cannons, you can study more about our cannons." Because the United States retreated from its original position, American commentators at the time generally believed that Kissinger's visit to China was "snubbed".Although Kissinger expressed all interest including meeting Mao Zedong, his host told him that it was "inconvenient to arrange a meeting" because Mao was in Changsha.Later, Kissinger heard from other sources that Mao Zedong was meeting other foreign guests in Changsha, so he had no choice but to visit Suzhou in resentment.It was already 10 months after Kissinger saw Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping again.