For better or worse, how important was it that Nixon talked to Mao and normalized relations between the two nations?
Depends on what you mean by important. I'm sure that not being sanctioned and being allowed to sort of trade with the rest of the world was a huge step in the beginning, and eventually paved the way for Deng's reforms that attracted foreign capital.
However I think in the grand scheme of things, China being admitted into the WTO was probably the single most important driver of their growth, as it allowed them to essentially undercut most of the western production apparatus, and made the west pay for China's industrialization.
Would it be fair to say that the normalization of relations between USA and China since the late 1970s (and subsequent Dengist reforms) at least abated the threat of a US invasion, at a time when China was only just industrializing and did not have the military power to defend itself that it does today?
is there a good youtube video on that? either the Hainan Island incident itself or the alt history potential.
It was an attempt to split the commies in two, never mind that already happened 10 years before Nixon. Plus, the idea was to bring China into the western camp and then make a shit-ton of money by exploiting them. Well, that part definitely happened. It was win-win, the only losers were the AmeriKKKan working class.
It proved that Stalinism could not achieve international socialism or integration. The two main “communist” powers could not find a way to work together and did not have the productive capacity to overcome domestic problems. They needed foreign expertise and capital and so one went to make a deal with the global capitalist hegemon. This should have been a wake up call for third wordists and really anyone who thinks communism is possible without revolutions in the countries that control capital
