Nixon in China During his surprise visit to China in February 1972, Nixon, alluding to his anti-Communist credentials, remarked to Chinese leader Mao Zedong, “Those on the right can do what those on the left only talk about.” Here, Mao, Nixon, and Kissinger meet at Mao’s residence in Beijing. In the preceding months, Kissinger had traveled secretly to China to lay the groundwork for the visit.

Bettmann/Corbis.