Myths and Realities of Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Starting with Nixon, China has been diplomatically genius. Unlike the Soviet Union, they avoided being isolated from the West. As a result, they were able to acquire the needed technological and business expertise from the West. In addition, they figured out how to open the economy enough for it to grow well and avoid the stagnation of the Soviet Union, while at the same time maintaining control by the Communist Party.<p>Also, another brilliant move was building enough nuclear weapons to serve as an effective deterrent while not building so many that a nuclear arms race is triggered.<p>And they managed to do this without any major hot wars.<p>Whether or not you agree with the Chinese government, their diplomacy and foreign policy for the last several decades have been stellar.