Nixon’s China and Obama’s Cuba: Where’s the Beef?

43 years ago from last February, “the week that changed the world”, as many have dubbed it, occurred when President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China. During his weeklong trip to China, President Nixon, along with First Lady Patricia Nixon, met with Mao Zedong, toured the countryside, and yes, learned how to eat with chopsticks (photo attached). At one point, while visiting the Great Wall of China, of which he was a guest himself, President Nixon led a tour group on a telling them the history of Great Wall of China, impressing many bystanders.

Arguably, never again has there been such a breakthrough in foreign relations between two countries. Sure, the White House has been host to countless state dinners, where different heads of state have been treated to lavishly decorated banquets in order to renew and celebrate diplomatic ties between the host country and the country that is visiting. But with state dinners, these are customary and expected in the realm of any presidential administration for the sake of tradition. When state dinners occur, there is only perhaps a minute dedicated to coverage of it on national news networks, suggesting that there is nothing significant about a foreign head of state visiting, or implying that only important part of the dinner is analyzing what dress the First Lady chose to wear for the occasion.

 

In addition, on August 14 of this year, the American flag was raised over our embassy in Havana, Cuba, for the first time in fifty-four years. But in this case, the flag-raising ceremony was the only event that commemorated this ongoing, historic occasion, and the ceremony itself lasted for less than half an hour. There was no formal weeklong state visit; this comes as a surprise when comparisons can be drawn from the Nixon Administration’s planning of reopening relations with China. Both occasions were historic, and they were both made in advanced secrecy for the sake of swaying public opinion later on. So where is the historical recognition for the U.S. restoring establishing formal relations with Cuba, just as there was recognition given to Nixon’s visit to China? Perhaps it will only occur in the near future, in retrospect, but here is what I believe:

While Secretary of State John Kerry was sent over to represent the United States in this historic moment, this historic occasion (of the United States re-establishing relations with Cuba) would have matched Nixon’s historic trip to China had the following occurred: President Obama, along with the First Lady, should have visited Cuba themselves for a whole week. Just as First Lady Patricia Nixon toured schools and factories in China, so should have First Lady Michelle Obama done in Cuba, let alone visit. Just as President Richard Nixon hosted many meetings and talks with China’s leaders, so should have President Obama had done in Cuba, let alone visit. Personally, while I view the U.S. reestablishing relations with Cuba as a form of rewarding the Castro regime for its repressive tactics and persistent, patient opposition to American interests, I still believe that the significance of the thawing of American/Cuban relations has been severely underrated (in taking the viewpoint that the current re-establishment of relations with Cuba is a good thing, that is). Still, I would love to be proven wrong in both cases.