Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on July 23. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Opinion
Chi Wang
How the Trump administration has misunderstood the lessons of Nixon, Kissinger and the past 50 years of US-China diplomacy
Decades of China engagement failed, according to Pompeo, because China did not liberalise as US leaders had anticipated
However, Nixon’s opening to China in 1972 had nothing to do with spreading democracy or free enterprise but was entirely about gaining the upper hand over the Soviets in the Cold War