Nixon promised them aid.

Mao’s revolution was working.

China’s relationship with the Soviet Union was disintegrating.

China had just been granted Most Favored Nation status and wanted U.S. investment.

Mao Zedong considered Taiwan part of China

Chiang Kai-shek and American forces were preparing an invasion

China wanted to exploit Taiwan’s economy

the United States was thinking of making Taiwan a territory

the Chinese maintained close diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union

China declared war against the United States in the Korean Conflict

the United States recognized Taiwan as the legitimate government of China

the American government fought to keep the Chinese communists out of the United Nations

maintain a military presence near the Chinese border

develop a new relationship with Communist China

avoid economic involvement in East Asia

encourage a counter-revolution in Communist China

America’s recognition of Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese government

the role China would play in helping to bring an end to the war in Vietnam

the economic success of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution

the war between China and the Soviet Union

a positive economic step that would open markets in the world’s most populous nation

an abandonment of Nixon’s own anti-communist credentials

a way to bring a quick end to the Vietnam War

a betrayal of America’s East Asian ally Taiwan