Last Thursday night, Manhattan attorney Christopher Nixon Cox spoke at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire. His talk, “The 40th Anniversary of President Nixon’s Trip to China – Moving Forward,” not only examined his grandfather’s epoch-making visit to the People’s Republic of China in 1972, but also described his own visit to the PRC in May of this year, in a group that included his wife Andrea, former National Security Advisor Robert “Bud” McFarlane, and USMC Col. Jack Brennan, who had been among those traveling with RN in 1972.
On Monday, Mr. Cox will visit China again, where he will meet with some of the nation’s leaders. In an interview with the Keene (New Hampshire) Sentinel he talks about the importance of continuing to build strong business ties between America and China:
He believes the economies of both countries can benefit greatly from trade agreements, that China represents a tremendous economic opportunity for the U.S. He says it’s a terrific way to ensure long-term peace between the two powers.
“We don’t act like we’re adversaries,” he said, noting that tens of thousands of students from both countries are involved in educational exchanges. “Trade agreements are the best thing we can do for peace across the world. We should be welcoming the Chinese to come in and invest in our infrastructure and our culture and we should be investing in their infrastructure and culture.”
He says U.S.-China relations will be most important of all as the next century unfolds, given the strength of the two economic superpowers. He remembers Nixon telling him a peaceful and prosperous China is a cornerstone for peace and stability worldwide.
In the interview Mr. Cox also reminisces about his days as a student at Princeton University, an institution whose faculty members in the political-science and history departments, several of them veteran New Leftists, are for the most part not well known for their admiration of the thirty-seventh President:
As a college student, he loved chiding professors who didn’t know his family background. By then, he says, he could handle himself when someone criticized his grandfather.
“They would say some things and I’d go up to the liberal ones, and challenge them to look at the record: EPA, workplace improvements with OSHA, Title IX, Bridge to Human Dignity, health care,” he said.
Mr. Cox in this article also mentions an event in his trip this spring which especially evoked memories of his grandfather, who passed away when he was fifteen:
In Hangzhou, a city 2½ hours west of Shanghai, Cox planted a redwood sapling next to a sapling Nixon planted on his trip. Nixon’s sapling has since grown into a huge tree.
“This tree is symbolic of the relationship between China and the U.S. It will ultimately grow to be a giant in the forest. That gave me the chills,” said Cox, adding that he hopes the tradition continues with his children and grandchildren.