AHC: US President visits PRC by 1972 without there having been a Vietnam War

raharris1973

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The challenge might sound easy, but here are the parameter restrictions:

-All PoDs must be after the Korean War armistice & post-Truman.

-The US cannot have deployed ground force units in Vietnam or launch bombing of North Vietnam [you have flexibility on the level of aid and advisors present in South Vietnam]

-The endgame must include a US President visiting the PRC by 1972, and US recognition of the PRC as the "China" by 1979
 
China often stole from Soviet supply trains south to Vietnam. If America catches wind of this, they might just meet visit for a treaty (before Chinese intervention in Vietnam, with secret provisions dictating that China will take more from Soviet supplies). After all, that kinda helps the South Vietnamese situation a bit.

Either that, or China suffers a major loss in some battle of prestige. North Vietnam is fed up with China and asks the Soviets to send supplies by sea. China gets mad at North Vietnam and the Soviets.
 

raharris1973

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Could a Nixon elected in 1960 have made successful overtures? Would he have felt willing and able at that point (61 to 68?)
 
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raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
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China often stole from Soviet supply trains south to Vietnam. If America catches wind of this, they might just meet visit for a treaty (before Chinese intervention in Vietnam, with secret provisions dictating that China will take more from Soviet supplies). After all, that kinda helps the South Vietnamese situation a bit.

Either that, or China suffers a major loss in some battle of prestige. North Vietnam is fed up with China and asks the Soviets to send supplies by sea. China gets mad at North Vietnam and the Soviets.

That sounds like a PoD *during* the war rather than *before* the war. But that's OK.

As it turns out the US and China really did not cooperate with each other in Vietnam, China helped Vietnamese resistance to the Americans. Both countries ended up losing their Vietnam wars.

It seemed "politically incorrect" in both countries (China and the US) for them to cooperate on Vietnam.
 
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