Nixon in China

phrase

Suggesting the ability of a politician with an unassailable reputation among his or her supporters for representing and defending their values to take actions that would draw their criticism and even opposition if taken by someone without those credentials.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticgovernmentSuggesting the ability of a politician with an unassailable reputation among his or her supporters for representing and defending their values to take actions that would draw their criticism and even opposition if taken by someone without those credentials.
    1 more example

    “People have tried to duplicate Nixon in China over and over again, including Iran,” Mann said. He cites the ill-fated 1986 journey by President Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser Robert “Bud” McFarlane, who traveled to Tehran carrying a Bible with a handwritten verse from Reagan and a key-shaped cake as a goodwill gesture for Iranian leaders.

    2015 March 14, Steven Mufson, “Is Obama’s Iran overture like Nixon’s opening to China?”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 20 Aug 2015

Origin

A reference to U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 establishment of direct diplomatic relations with, and personal visit to, the People's Republic of China. Nixon's unyielding opposition to Communism had been well-known.

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Cite this entry
APA

Nixon in China. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nixon%20in%20China

MLA

“Nixon in China.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nixon%20in%20China. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Nixon in China,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nixon%20in%20China.

Source: Nixon in China on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.