@John L. My own reference was from Kissinger's book, 'On China', published in 2011. In it, Kissinger mentioned how on his second secret visit in October, 1970, he and Zhou Enlai nutted out the Communique which Nixon and Mao's teams were to broadcast to the world the following year. There were to be no ambiguity regarding China as representing the one nation; that China would assume its place at the UN, as well the two countries were to agree on the subject of Taiwan. But that those implementations would have to be gradual. Zhou gave his guest to understand that China would not be putting troops in the Vietnam War, which the US was afraid of. China and US knew that each was playing its trilateral games together with the Soviet Union, but that China wanted US to know it was in dispute with the latter, but was still not afraid to confront one or both together. A bit of the 'crazy brave' here, which Kissinger thought was Mao's own bravado, not Zhou's.