Download During the course of the Cold War, tensions

Détente
During the course of the Cold War, tensions
rose and fell many times. One period of
relaxation developed in the early 1970s and
became known as "Détente," a French word
meaning "release of tensions." It was hoped
that the new relationship would herald a
permanent improvement in relations between
the U.S. and Soviet Union, but differences in
outlook led to an increasing number of
conflicts. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in
1979 effectively closed that chapter of the Cold
War. The activities of President Ronald Reagan
returned tensions to a fever pitch.
that the tension between the Soviet Union and
China held promise for the United States. His
national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, took
the same view. Secret back channels of
communication were opened through Pakistan
and Romania, sending word to the Chinese that
the United States was interested in ending its
policy of attempting to politically isolate the
PRC.
Soviet relations with the People's Republic
of China
Détente could probably not have taken place,
and certainly wouldn't have assumed the form
that it did, without the rift that developed
between the world's two primary communist
regimes, the Soviet Union and the People's
Republic of China (PRC). Despite the fear
many Americans had about monolithic
communism, the two supposed allies had never
been especially close. Joseph Stalin had not
backed Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong) against
the nationalists during World War II, and his
insistence that China pay cash for weapons
during the Korean War was a source of
grievance.
Over time, the Soviets decided that Mao was
unreliable and that China was a potential rival.
When they withdrew their support of China's
nuclear weapons program, the Chinese
proceeded on their own, exploding their first
atomic bomb in 1964 and a hydrogen bomb in
1967. By the late 1960s, a million Soviet troops
faced a million Chinese troops across the
Ussuri River, the easternmost part of the border
between those countries.
The falling out did not go unnoticed in
Washington, D.C. President Richard M. Nixon
concluded, despite the origins of his political
career in virulent anti-communist activities,
SALT I negotiations were being held in
early 1970 with the Soviets while secret talks
were going on with the Chinese. Nixon was
attempting the Vietnamization of the Vietnam
War, which meant withdrawing American
troops and replacing them in combat with
South Vietnamese. Suddenly, at the end of
April, Nixon intensified the conflict by
bombing Cambodia to fight the North
Vietnamese-supported Khmer Rouge guerillas.
The Chinese were publicly indignant and
privately cancelled the next round of talks.
However, like the Americans, some Chinese
leaders saw the advantages of a rapprochement.
After an internal struggle within the Chinese
Central Committee, those favoring continued
contact carried the day.
Cold War superpowers breakthrough
In April 1971, the breakthrough began. The
United States lifted its trade embargo with
China, which had been in place since the start
of the Korean War. In that same month, a
minor incident occurred in Japan, where the
world table tennis championships were taking
place. A member of the American team
mistakenly boarded a bus carrying members of
the Chinese team, resulting in the first
interaction between team members. The next
day, the American team captain proposed to the
Chinese captain that the Chinese invite them
into their country for a match. With Mao's
approval, the invitation was extended and the
American athletes became the first from their
country to be officially welcomed in decades.
With the ice seemingly broken, Kissinger
secretly visited Beijing in July 1971 and met
Mao and Zhou Enlai. Such ongoing issues as
Vietnam and Taiwan were discussed. To
advance the process, the Chinese invited Nixon
to visit, which he did in February 1972,
publicly shaking hands with Mao, and being
toasted by Zhou in the Great Hall of the People.
Although the trip did not result in many
practical steps, it did show that China and the
United States had common interests. The
prospect of improved relations between its two
most formidable enemies caused concern in the
Kremlin. A summit between Nixon and Leonid
Brezhnev was scheduled, and results from
SALT I were finally reached. On May 22,
Nixon and Brezhnev signed agreements in
Moscow that curbed the arms race for the first
time. Four days later, the two men signed the
Basic Principles of Relations between the
United States and the U.S.S.R. The agreement
called for peaceful co-existence, the avoidance
of military confrontations, and no claims of
spheres of influence.
In a move designed to win approval from
American farmers, Nixon suggested to the
Soviets that they purchase American grain. A
month later, a purchase of 400 million bushels
of wheat, valued at $700 million, was
negotiated, along with favorable credit terms.
The price was low and the Soviets quickly
purchased a large portion of the U.S. surplus
grain reserve, demonstrating that the U.S.S.R.
could operate successfully in a capitalist
relationship.
In June 1973, Brezhnev visited the United
States for a second summit with Nixon. He
warned Nixon that America's perceived bias in
favor of Israel over Arab interests was putting a
strain on Détente in the Middle East. When the
October War broke out, it nearly derailed
Détente. Both superpowers aided their allies in
the region and for a while, nuclear
confrontation appeared to be a real possibility.