Yeah, most of the words in a meeting like this are going to be fluff.
Chairman Mao: I like rightists. People say you are rightists, that the Republican Party is to the right, that Prime Minister Heath is also to the right.
:jesse-wtf:
President Nixon: And General DeGaulle.
Chairman Mao: DeGaulle is a different question. They also say the Christian Democratic Party of West Germany is also to the right. I am comparatively happy when these people on the right come into power.
:meow-tableflip:
President Nixon: I think the important thing to note is that in America, at least at this time, those on the right can do what those on the left talk about.
Dr. Kissinger: There is another point, Mr. President. Those on the left are pro-Soviet and would not encourage a move toward the People’s Republic, and in fact criticize you on those grounds.
Chairman Mao: Exactly that. Some are opposing you. In our country also there is a reactionary group which is opposed to our contact with you. The result was that they got on an airplane and fled abroad.
Prime Minister Chou: Maybe you know this.
Wow, they're talking about Lin Biao. That was top secret and is a major conspiracy theory in today's China. And here are Mao and Zhou discussing it openly with the US president. Extraordinary.
That's weird Oliver Stone's Nixon taught me that Mao was a delirious giggling demon at this meeting.
(Edit: Nixon is actually a very good flick about the deep state, the Mao scene was the worst part)
This meeting is also part of the first act of American composer John Adams's English-language opera "Nixon in China"
Here's a link to a recording of it being performed: https://youtu.be/G72JjpMEdKs?t=1320s
(If the timestamp in the link doesn't work for you, the Mao scene starts at the 22 minute mark.)
This recording is from a 2012 performance of the opera at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, so Mao's line about Charles de Gaulle gets some laughs from the audience.
Here's the text of the opera: https://www.opera-arias.com/adams/nixon-in-china/libretto/
The meeting with Mao is Act 1, Scene 2.
