FILE - In this Feb. 24, 1972, file photo, President Richard Nixon, with Chinese guides and interpreters, stands on the Great Wall of China outside Peking. Richard Nixon made the historic journey to meet Chinese leader Mao Zedong in part paved by a U.S. pingpong delegation that traveled to Beijing a year earlier. (AP Photo/File)
In 1972, President Richard Nixon made the historic journey to meet Chinese leader Mao Zedong in part paved by a U.S. pingpong delegation that traveled to Beijing a year earlier.
The U.S. and China had fought only 20 years earlier on opposing sides of the Korean War. Their historic handshake was as much about countering the Soviet threat as building trade and relations between the two countries.
FILE - In this Feb. 21, 1972, file photo, Chinese communist party leader Mao Zedong, left, and U.S. President Richard Nixon shake hands as they meet in Beijing, China. Nixon made the historic journey to meet Chinese leader Mao Zedong in part paved by a U.S. pingpong delegation that traveled to Beijing a year earlier. Their historic handshake was as much about countering the Soviet threat as building trade and cordial relations between the two countries. (AP Photo, File)
China felt directly threatened by the Soviets at the time, and Nixon was thought to have parlayed the nascent relationship as a counter to Moscow over arms control talks.
