88. Memorandum of Conversation, Beijing, February 21, 1972, 2:30-2:40 p.m.1 2
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
PARTICIPANTS:
Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Winston Lord, NSC Staff
Prime Minister Chou En-lai
T’ang Wen-Sheng, Interpreter
DATE & TIME: Monday, February 21, 1972 - 2:30-2:40 p.m.
PLACE: The President’s Guest House, Peking
PM Chou: Chairman Mao would like to see the President.
Dr. Kissinger : Can I bring Winston Lord?
PM Chou: Won’t the Secretary be mad?
Dr. Kissinger : We tell him. We can announce it a little later.
PM Chou: Since the Chairman is inviting him he wants to see him fairly soon.
Dr. Kissinger : The President will be coming. Will you be reading your toast tonight?
PM Chou: I will be reading it. Will you have a written text?
Dr. Kissinger : I will have it for you by the plenary session—in the next hour or so. But will you read it?
PM Chou: We will read it.
Dr. Kissinger : You are not memorizing it. Should ours be mild or tough since you will speak first?
PM Chou: We will give you a copy of our text.
[Page 2]Dr. Kissinger : I will get the President. He will be ready in two minutes.
[The President arrived and then went on to meet with Chairman Mao.]
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 92, Country Files, Far East, China, Dr. Kissinger’s Meetings in the People’s Republic of China during the Presidential Visit, February 1972. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. No drafting information appears on the memorandum; presumably drafted by Lord. Another set of these documents is ibid., President’s Trip, February 1972, HAK Conversations. Unless noted otherwise, the versions are identical. The meeting was held at the President’s Guest House, Beijing. All brackets are in the source text.↩
- President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Kissinger and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai briefly discussed the toasts each would give that evening at dinner.↩