Presidential Diplomacy

Archive Report

Nixon's Forthcoming Visit to China

Role of the U.S. President as ’Diplomat in Chief’

The president of the United States holds not one office but several. He is Chief Executive. Head of State. Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and head of his party. In the past three decades or so, still another function has been added to the list. To an ever-increasing extent, the President is the country's “Diplomat in Chief.” It is in this capacity that President Nixon will travel to China sometime within the next several months for talks with Premier Chou En-lai and, presumably, Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung.

Arrangements for the President's visit were worked out in talks between Chou and presidential assistant Henry A. Kissinger in Peking. July 9–11, 1971. ...

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