Fifty years ago, the US and China signed the "Shanghai Communiqué" leading to the normalisation of ties between Washington and Beijing. Its main purpose was to counter the Soviet Union which had threatened to "take out" China's nuclear arsenal. RFI looks at how this historical 'triangle' is being reformed against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
US President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China from 21-28 February 1972, half a century ago, resulted in a strategic cooperation with China sharing intelligence on Soviet troop movements through its listening posts near the Russian border in Xinjiang, discouraging Moscow from attacking China, and thus preventing a nuclear Armageddon.
