ROMANIAN ROLE SEEN

# Months of Probing Convinced Nixon in April on Peking Bid

BY DAVID KRASLOW

Times Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON—Many months of deft probing through secret channels—with Romanian officials believed to have played a prime role—finally convinced President Nixon in April that a breakthrough in relations with mainland China was in the offing.

Word reaching the White House then set in motion perhaps the most dramatic phase of an effort launched a few days after Mr. Nixon took office and which culminated with the President's momentous announcement Thursday night.

It was in April that the President felt sure that a high-level emissary of his would be welcome in Peking to discuss a visit to China by Mr. Nixon. No American President has ever visited China.

It was felt further at that time that one expected result of the emissary's trip would be an invitation to the

President from Chinese Premier Chou En-lai—an invitation that Mr. Nixon had solicited, inferentially at least, and which he was eager to accept.

There followed three months of intense White House planning for the secret trip to Peking by Henry A. Kissinger, the President's adviser for national security affairs, as well

Please Turn to Page 6, Col. 1

## THE WEATHER

National Weather Service forecast: Variable clouds today and Sunday with a chance of scattered thundershowers or sprinkles. High today, 88. High Friday 85; low 66

Complete weather information and smog report in Part 2, Page 6.

CHINA PROBING

Continued from First Page

as further diplomatic prob-
ing to establish ground
rules and settle other mat-
ters for Kissinger's visit.

On Feb. 1, 1969, just 12
days after his inaugura-
tion, the President sent
Kissinger the first of a se-
ries of memoranda making
plain Mr. Nixon's determi-
nation to explore every
possible avenue of normal-
izing relations with Com-
munist China.

The President was con-
sistent and persistent in
pursuing what he regard-
ed as an essential foreign
policy objective of his Ad-
ministration.

Too Sensitive

When several newsmen
asked last month for infor-
mation on those still-se-
cret memos so that they
could report in greater de-
tail how the Nixon China
policy had evolved, they
were told, "Not now, the
subject is too sensitive."

It was indeed. The Pres-
ident and Kissinger very
likely knew at that point
that Kissinger's trip was
imminent.

Journalist Edgar Snow,
an American who has had
access to Chairman Mao
Tse-tung and other Chi-
nese leaders for many
years, had solid informa-
tion in a report he wrote
for the Life magazine
issue of April 30 on at
least a part of the secret
negotiations.

Snow, who lives in
Switzerland, left Peking in
February after a six-
month visit during which
he had a lengthy inter-
view with Mao.

If the Administration
was seeking additional sig-

nals of accommodation
from Peking, they were in-
cluded all through Snow's
article. Officials said Fri-
day, however, that Snow
was not a channel of com-
munictation with Peking,
and that solid information
on the Chinese regime's
attitude toward the White
House feelers was in hand
—and in greater detail—
than that contained in
Snow's article.

Snow reported Mao's
feeling that Mr. Nixon
should be permitted to
come to China even
though he was a "rightist
... who represented mo-
nopoly capitalists."

Mao felt, Snow said, that
the present problems be-
tween China and the Unit-
ed States would have to
be solved with Mr. Nixon and
that Mao would be happy
to talk with him, either as
a tourist or as President.

Most Revealing

But in light of the dra-
matic disclosure of Kissin-
ger's secret trip to Peking,
the most intriguing and
revealing piece of informa-
tion in Snow's report was
the following:

"From another and unimpeachable diplomatic source I learned, not long before my departure from Peking in February, that the White House had once more conveyed a message asking how a personal rep-resentative of the Pres-ident would be received in the Chinese capital for conversations with the highest Chinese leaders."

High Administration of-
ficials queried by report-
ers at the time had either
a "No comment" or pro-
fessed not to know what
Snow was talking about.

7 Los Angeles Times ★

Part I—Sat., July 17, 1971

## FOE TO FRIEND

# Nixon China Shift Took 20 Years

BY ROBERT BARKDOLL

Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—In 20 years, Richard M. Nixon slowly evolved from an implacable foe of Communist China into the U.S. President who has now extended the hand of friendship to the People's Republic of China.

This dramatic change climaxed Thursday night when the President announced his trip to Peking. But he had bared his hopes to his daughters in an intimate family setting at Camp David, Md., Eastern Sunday, telling them then "The place to go is China."

The record shows that at the height of the Korean war in 1951 then-Sen. Nixon, already a veteran hunter of domestic Communists, was denouncing the Chinese Reds and blaming the Democrats for having "lost" China.

He continued to warn against any such step as recognition of China or a U.N. seat for Peking in the days of his Vice Presidency under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

But by 1960, and his unsuccessful presidential campaign against John F. Kennedy, there had been a softening in his rhetoric.

In the fall of 1960, he was saying that "Our attitude (toward China) should not be rigid. We cannot and should not say we will never recognize

the government that rules over 600 million people."

After a seven-year political hiatus, he went into the 1968 presidential campaign declaring that the time had arrived "to come urgently to grips with the reality of China."

Looking toward eventual talks with Chinese leaders, he said:

"Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations, there to nurture its fantasies, cherish its hates and threaten its neighbors."

After entering the White House, Mr. Nixon moved cautiously, relaxing trade and travel restrictions and, as it turns out now, setting his foreign policy adviser, Henry A., Kissinger, to the task of making further overtures to China's leaders.

It all came to a climax Thursday night with Mr. Nixon's announcement of his trip to China sometime before next May.

But he had expressed his dream with feeling on April 16 when, appearing before a panel at the American Society of Newspaper Editors, he was asked about his hopes in regard to U.S. relations

with China.

After recounting some history, he concluded by saying:

"The other day was Easter Sunday. Both of my daughters, Tricia and Julie, were there—Tricia with Eddie Cox—I understand they are getting married this June—and Julie and David Eisenhower.

"The conversation got around to travel and also, of course, with regard to honeymoon travel and the rest. They were asking me, where would you like to go? Where do you think we ought to go?

"So, I sat back and thought a bit and said, 'Well, the place to go is to Asia.' I said: 'I hope that some time in your life, sooner rather than later, you will be able to go to China to see the great cities, and the people, and all of that, there.'

"I hope they do. As a matter of fact, I hope sometime I do."

RICHARD M. NIXON—As he was then... and now.

(U) photos

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