Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 1 › Conversation 001-119

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on People's Republic of China and Vietnam War

Friday, April 16, 1971 · 11:22 PM–11:27 PM ET · White House Telephone ·5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation001-119 onTape 1 (tape position 03:53:14–03:58:37)StartFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:22 PMEndFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:27 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-119 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger debrief following the President's interview with newspaper editors, evaluating the public reception of his comments on the People's Republic of China and Vietnam policy. They discuss the strategic framing of residual forces in Vietnam and the potential for a historical diplomatic breakthrough with China. Kissinger is tasked with contacting journalist Otis Chandler to relay the President’s appreciation for the quality of the interview questions and to emphasize that the President’s remarks regarding China were aspirational rather than formal policy shifts.

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Position in tape: 03:53:14 – 03:58:37

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Dr. Kissinger is present.
Mr. President.
Henry, the one point that may turn into a minor lead, not a big lead, but...
In fact, when I spoke about the children, I said, well, you know, I hope that they can go to China someday.
Yeah.
And that I hope that I could go someday, you know.
You know.
That doesn't bother you, does it?
It doesn't bother me, but it might just madly turn out that they'll get invited to spend their honeymoon there.
Be great.
But I think we didn't overplay it, did we?
No, no, no, no.
That was a general thing.
Oh, not at all.
That, in fact, I thought was a nice human touch.
Yeah, this is really true, you know.
When I spoke to these kids at Easter and I said, you know, I hope that in your time you'll be able to go to China, and I want our policies to be one that will make it possible, you know.
This is really quite moving to the younger generation, isn't it?
Oh, yes.
Well, it's moving to the older generation.
I mean, the sense of people eager to go back to China is just unbelievable.
yeah yeah no i thought that was better to touch him in fact well we shall see but uh in handling your uh press guys just be sure that you point out that
The President was only speaking in terms of hopes and not in terms of... And that I'd heard you say that many times before.
That I want to go and I want my kids to go and I hope this world will be one where everybody can visit all parts of the world and all that sort of business, you know?
Oh, yes.
Yeah.
Oh, I think we can do that.
That is not at all the problem, Mr. President.
In fact, I thought that was a great plug.
It gave it a human touch.
Yeah, good.
Hilsberg thought what you said about the barbaric treatment of the prisoners would be the big headline, or a big headline.
Well, it was a, it is barbaric.
But I thought that that's exactly what you wanted.
And you notice what I said, that, you know, I said unless both the prisoners and the ability of South Vietnam to defend itself were...
attained that we would continue to maintain a residual force.
Well, I thought that was a masterpiece.
Because it's true.
And it took lead off the hook, too, you see.
Well, all I can tell you is that I've received no indication of doubt in the mood.
What's his view?
We got them on the run.
All he wants now is a free election in October.
Free election?
Oh, shit.
There's no problem on that.
Exactly.
All right.
It's got him worried, huh?
I would sort of tell him, look, Adlai, there's a lot of things going on here that your father was interested in, the President, Rudy's interested in the same things, and now look, let's lead toward this direction, you know?
Because, you know, really,
We make the breakthrough in China.
This is the biggest thing that's ever happened in, you know, 20 years, Henry.
That's a historic turning point, Mr. President.
That's right.
They all know it, don't they?
Oh, no question.
Not a question.
It worries them, but we won't get any credit.
But who knows?
Oh, you'll get credit.
On this, you've gotten full credit.
The first time.
Do you think so?
Oh, yes.
Well, they know it couldn't have come from anyone else.
No one else had ever talked over it.
All right.
As a matter of fact, you and I know that without our leadership, nothing would have happened here.
Nobody else in it, no dove could have done this.
Absolutely.
Hubert couldn't have done it.
No one could have done it politically, and no one could have done it within the bureaucracy because they didn't want to do it.
That's right.
That's right.
Well, get State, be sure State backs us up on this all the way now.
I've got them pretty well under control this way.
Right.
And be sure that Laird knows I defended him on this, too.
I said, you know...
I've already called the Mr. President.
Is he all right?
He's fine.
Yeah, because, you know, I said, well, his position is exactly right.
See, I didn't, I kept the residual force, I kept the air power, you know, I hit that hard that we're going to have it there as long as we need it.
And also in Thailand, where they said, well, now you're going to keep that.
I said, well, we have other reasons to keep people in Thailand, right?
Absolutely.
I thought the foreign policy part, I'm only not talking about the domestic part because I don't know that so well.
I thought it was beautifully handled.
I will.
Tell Adlai that, look, let's, we all are now in the same boat.
Let's try to do the things that your father, his father, is interested in.
One world, all that jazz, huh?
Okay, tell him that that's what I said to him, okay, will you?
And that I, of course, as you notice, I came out strongly against the business of the Army, uh,
In the 68th Democratic Convention, you know, I said, we stopped it.
See?
I noticed that.
Right.
And it was very effective.
Okay.
Fine, Henry.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:22 pm to 11:27 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-119 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 1-119

Date: April 16, 1971
Time: 11:22 pm - 11:27 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     President's interview with newspaper editors
           -Statements on People's Republic of China [PRC]
                 -Popular reaction
           -Treatment of prisoners of war [POWs]
                 -David Ginsberg
           -Residual force in Vietnam
                 -Melvin R. Laird
                 -Adlai E. Stevenson, III
                       -Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
           -President's PRC initiative
                 -Hubert H. Humphrey
                 -State Department
                 -Kissinger's conversation with Laird
          -Residual force in Vietnam
                 -Thailand
          -President's message for Stevenson
          -Army in 1968 Democratic Convention

Also recorded on April 17, 1971

  • 001-112 11:01 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 11:01 pm to 11:03 pm.
  • 001-113 11:04 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:04 pm.
  • 001-114 11:05 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:05 pm to 11:09 pm.
  • 001-115 11:09 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:09 pm.
  • 001-116 11:10 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at 11:10 pm.
  • 001-117 11:10 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 001-118 11:10 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 001-120 11:28 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 11:28 pm to 11:31 pm.

All 49 conversations from April 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 001-119, April 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-119 (accessed September 18, 2026).