The World Then
1945: At the end of the Second World War, major powers lie defeated. Britain, so weakened by the huge costs of victory, can no longer play a world role. The Soviet Union has great military strength, but has to make good the hideous costs of Hitler's invasion and the war. Only the United States stands tall as truly dominant.
As WWII ends, the America slides from backing China, previously an ally against Japan, to backing one faction, the Guomindang, against another, the Chinese Communists.
1949: The Communists win the civil war, having real reason to fear and despise the Americans. As Mao Tse-tung's policies send China down wasteful and destructive paths, this animosity turns into open hostility. During the Korean War, the first armed conflict of the Cold War, Chinese and American soldiers fight each other.
1960: Western Europe and Japan have revived. The Soviet Union, although it would never be an economic power to match the United States, invests heavily in its military. Meanwhile, China virtually ceases to have a foreign policy, as all its diplomats are summoned home to be cleansed of imperfect attitudes. By now, the Chinese Cultural Revolution has become a model and an inspiration in many Third World countries.
1970: The Chinese and, most important, Chairman Mao, realize just how isolated they have become in the world. Among China's neighbors only Pakistan is friendly; the Soviet Union is distinctly hostile, amassing vast armies along the common border and talking, none too quietly, about the possibility of a nuclear strike on China.
The United States is not as friendless, but it is newly aware of its own vulnerabilities. The war in Vietnam has cost the country much in lives, money and reputation. It has led to deep divisions at home and a loss of influence and prestige abroad. The failure to finish, much less win, the war has contributed to a decline in American power. The inevitable realization: the extraordinary military and economic dominance that the Unites States has possessed from the end of the World War Two could not last forever.
Despite the impediments of recent history and national pride, there is a realization that the time is ripe for each side to make a move toward the other. In both the United States and China there are influential voices stating that the advantages of a relationship, even a cool one, far outweighs continuing nonrecognition. For each other is a card to play against the common enemy, the Soviet Union.