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Establishment of Communist China (PRC)
But Mao decided not to recover Hong Kong and Macao -
Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship
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Start of Korean War
1950 to 1953 - US decision to defend Taiwan against PRC -
US threatened PRC with nuclear attack
President Eisenhower; to push for an armistice to end the Korean War -
US-Taiwan Defence Treaty
Prevented PRC's invasion of Taiwan -
1st Taiwan Strait Crisis
Fears of renewed Sino-US war -
Anti-Rightist Movement in PRC
Mao's fear of US ideological subversion in PRC -
2nd Taiwan Strait Crisis
More of Chinese attempt to test Soviet commitment to 1950 alliance treaty -
Sino-Soviet Split Became Public
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US stopped Chiang Kai-shek from attacking PRC
President Kennedy; Mao's catastrophic failure in his Great Leap Forward campaign -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Start of direct US involvement in Vietnam War -
China successfully tested its atomic bomb
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Start of Cultural Revolution in PRC
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Tet Offensive in Vietnam War
Public mood turned against US involvement in Vietnam War -
Nixon Became US President
Keen to take advantage of Sino-Soviet split and improve relations with PRC -
Sino-Soviet Border War
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Nixon Doctrine
Large scale withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam -
Mao ready to welcome Nixon to China
Mao's conversation with visiting US journalist Edgar Snow -
Kissinger's secret visit to PRC
US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger -
PRC admitted to United Nations
Taiwan ousted from UN -
Nixon's visit to China
Shanghai Communique -
Paris Peace Accords
End of US military involvement in Vietnam War -
Resignation of Nixon
Due to Watergate scandal; replaced by President Ford -
Fall of South Vietnam to Communism
End of Vietnam War -
Death of Mao Zedong
Rise of Deng Xiaoping to power -
Brzezinski's visit to China
Open US tilt towards China; US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski -
Sino-US Communique
Ended US relations with Taiwan; terminated defence treaty -
US formally recognised PRC
Deng's official visit to USA - unofficial Sino-US alliance against USSR -
Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)
Continuing US ties with Taiwan -
Sino-US Trade Agreement