29. Memorandum from the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Secretary of State Rogers, Secretary of Defense Richardson, Secretary of the Treasury Shultz, Secretary of Agriculture Butz, and Secretary of Commerce Dent1
SUBJECT
- Coordinating USG Contacts with the Liaison Office of the People’s Republic of China
The People’s Republic of China is now in the process of establishing a Liaison Office in Washington which will open for business some time in early May. This will provide all agencies of the U.S. Government a more ready contact point with Chinese authorities as the process of normalization of Sino-American relations proceeds.
Given the still sensitive stage of our relations with the People’s Republic, however, the President has requested that all contacts with the PRC’s Washington Liaison Office be coordinated with the National Security Council and the Department of State.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 526, Country Files, Far East, People’s Republic of China, Vol. 6, Jan-Apr 1973. Secret. A copy of this memorandum was sent to the Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, Peter Flanigan. Kissinger approved the memorandum after receiving it under an April 16 covering memorandum from Holdridge. (Ibid.) On May 16, Kissinger sent it to all department and agency heads. (Ibid., Box 527, Country Files, Far East, People’s Republic of China, Vol. 7, May, 1973-Jul 9, 1973)↩