From Nixon's historic 1972 visit to Obama's town hall meeting in Shanghai, TIME examines Presidential trips to China
SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty
Barack Obama, 2009
President Obama embarked on his first trip to China on Nov. 15, making him one of only seven U.S. Presidents to visit the communist nation. Obama has several days of talks ahead of him on topics ranging from climate change to sanctions on Iran, but likely excluding the sensitive issues of human rights and freedom of speech. On that front, his stand-out moment has most likely already occurred. On Nov. 16, the man dubbed "America's first Pacific president" conducted a town hall meeting in Shanghai in front of a handpicked audience. The most controversial question of the night: "Should we be able to use Twitter freely?"
Read TIME's analysis of the town hall meeting here
Richard Nixon, 1972
In 1972, President Nixon became the first U.S. President to visit the People's Republic of China and his seven-day trip marked a turning point in China-U.S. relations. Nixon traveled to several Chinese cities and met with both Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. The leaders bridged the Cold War divide to sign the Shanghai Communiqué, in which they agreed to disagree over China's claim to Taiwan. The trip's significance went beyond formal agreements to symbolize a new era of cooperation. A Nixon-Mao handshake erased China's grudge over a 1954 embarrassment when then-U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles refused to shake Zhou's hand. Nixon not only shook hands, but he even practiced using chopsticks on the plane flight over.
Read TIME's 1972 cover story, "Richard Nixon's Long March to Shanghai"
Gerald Ford, 1975
President Ford's trip to China was surrounded by political uncertainty. The U.S. was still reeling from the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation while the People's Republic of China's 82-year-old founder, Mao Zedong, was in increasingly failing health. Although Ford met with Mao, his main point of contact was Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (above), who as Mao's successor would later spearhead the opening up of China. The issues at hand: U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, how to deal with the Soviet Union, and perennial disagreement over Taiwan.
Read TIME's 1975 article about Ford's visit to China
Ronald Reagan, 1984
A "spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit" characterized President Reagan's journey to China, which resulted in scientific and cultural exchanges, increased trade and a nuclear cooperate agreement. China even let Reagan use his own airplane — a first for a visiting U.S. politician. Previously, U.S. government aircraft had been barred from flying in Chinese airspace.
George H.W. Bush, 1989
President George H.W. Bush traveled to China in February 1989 for a 40-hour "working visit." The recently elected President had served as Ford's chief China liaison officer before the countries had established formal diplomatic relations, and his trip was seen more as a gesture of goodwill than anything else. Bush's tone changed a few months later, however, when he halted all arms sales and imposed sanctions on China following the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre.
See pictures of Tiananmen Square
Bill Clinton, 1998
The Great Negotiator's trip to China marked the two countries' return to a stable, if occasionally strained, diplomatic relationship following the sanctions imposed during the previous Bush Administration. During his visit, Clinton reiterated U.S. support for the one-China policy and praised Chinese President Jiang Zemin's leadership. When asked whether he believed democracy was possible in China, Clinton responded positively by saying, "I believe there can be, and I believe there will be."
George W. Bush, 2005
During a tour across Asia, George W. Bush made a one-day stop in Beijing to a cordial but tense reception. A few days earlier he had remarked that China's leaders would soon discover that "once the door to freedom is open even a crack, it cannot be closed." Bush used his time in China to meet with President Hu Jintao, after which he acquiesced to a press conference about his trip. The President answered just six questions — blaming jet leg for his "lack of enthusiasm" — then strode away from the lectern toward the door. After jiggling both handles, Bush discovered that it was locked. Apparently not everything in China was as open as it seemed.
See TIME's Top 10 George W. Bush Youtube Moments
Let Me Out!
Seconds after curtly telling a reporter that jet lag was to blame for being "off his game," President Bush tried to leave a November 2005 press conference in China only to be stymied by a set of locked doors. Turning sheepishly to the press corps, the flummoxed Bush said, "I was trying to escape. It didn't work." No. It did not.
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