A Soviet Diplomat's Memories of Beijing 1973-1975.

• Author: Schuchat, Simon
• Position: Excerpt from " China: A Thorny Path to Neighborly Relations. Memoirs and Reflections" and Alexei Arkadievich Brezhnev

American Diplomacy

November 1, 2021

www.americandiplomacy.org

Title: A Soviet Diplomat's Memories of Beijing 1973-1975

Author: Simon Schuchat

Text:

Translated by Simon Schuchat

Editor's Note: This excerpt from a Soviet diplomat's memoir of his China service is translated by Simon Schuchat. The diplomat, AlekseiArkadevich Brezhnev (1930-2008, no relation to Leonid Brezhnev), worked on Sino-Soviet affairs from 1953 until 1978, in Beijing and Moscow, including serving as acting head of the USSR embassy during part of the Cultural Revolution in China. In 1998 he published China: A Thorny Path to Neighborly Relations. Memoirs and Reflections, from which this excerpt is taken.

In accordance with the Sino-American agreement reached in Beijing and Washington in 1973, each side opened its own liaison office. Their difference from embassies was purely formal, connected with the difficulties of finding a suitable formula on the Taiwan issue (the parties apparently needed time to camouflage a compromise and demonstrate "firmness" in upholding their positions). The U.S. established full diplomatic relations in 1979.

In Beijing, the U.S. Liaison Office [USLO] showed a willingness to maintain friendly relations with the Soviet embassy, which we reciprocated. By the way, during the next vacation, meeting with V.V. Kuznetsov (1), I consulted with him on this issue. He recommended, without insisting, maintaining good stable relations with the Americans, as long as we did not hide them from the Chinese.

The extraordinary personality of the USLO Chief, the future U.S. President George H. W. Bush, was especially engraved in the memory. He was energetically friendly with the Tolstikovs (2), as well as with my wife and me, since we both spoke English and thus there was no language barrier.

Bush often resorted to theatrical gestures: pats on the back, etc. Entering the dining room of the International Club and seeing us, he sometimes shouted loudly: "Hello, Brezhnevs!" We answered. Naturally, this was noted by all who were present, including [Chinese] plainclothes people, who "happened to be" there.

Why did he do it?

I think his idea was, while actively working to develop U.S.-China relations, at the same time, he wanted to warn the Chinese against trying to play a Soviet card against the U.S. In those conditions, this did not contradict our interests either.

Sometime in the second half of 1975, the Bushes invited the Tolstikovs, and my wife and me to visit. The...