This photograph shows President Richard Nixon eating his dinner with chopsticks at a banquet given in his honor, with Chinese Premier Chou En-lai (Zhou Enlai).
When President Nixon entered office, the United States had not had any formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China since 1949 when the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, won China’s long civil war. His decision to visit China and open discussions between the two nations stunned the world and became one of the defining moments of his presidency.
