Shanghai Communiqué

The hall at Jinjiang Hotel, site of the signing of the communiqué.

Background

The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, also known as the Shanghai Communiqué (1972), was an important diplomatic document issued by the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on February 28, 1972 during President Richard Nixon's visit to China.^[1] The document pledged that it was in the interest of all nations for the United States and China to work towards the normalization of their relations, although this would not occur until the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations seven years later.

The US and China also agreed that neither they nor any other power should "seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region".^[1] This was of particular importance to China, which shared a militarized border with the Soviet Union.

Regarding the political status of Taiwan, in the communiqué the United States acknowledged the One-China policy (but did not endorse the PRC's version of the policy) and agreed to cut back military installations on Taiwan. This "constructive ambiguity" (in the phrase of US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who oversaw the American side of the negotiations) would continue to hinder efforts for complete normalization.

The communiqué included wishes to expand the economic and cultural contacts between the two nations, although no concrete steps were mentioned.

See also

• Three Communiqués
• Sino-American relations

References

Further reading

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Shanghai Communiqué

• Nickles, David P., ed. (2013). "Foreign Relations of the United States: 1977–1980 — China" (PDF). Washington: United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved 3 October 2013.