Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 539 › Conversation 539-007
Nixon & Ziegler on People's Republic of China and Public relations
Monday, July 19, 1971 · 11:58 AM–12:08 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler met to coordinate public messaging regarding the administration's recent initiative to open diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Nixon directed Ziegler to remain non-committal on speculative questions concerning Vietnam, Taiwan, and the potential impact on other nations, while emphasizing that the President would continue to work with relevant leaders. They also discussed handling inquiries about Vice President Spiro Agnew's controversial remarks on African leadership and affirmed the President's stance on meeting with Soviet officials only when concrete results are achievable.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 70.0 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:23:31 into the tape and ends around 01:35:09.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On July 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:58 am to 12:08 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 539-007 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 539-7
Date: July 19, 1971
Time: 11:58 am - 12:08 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler
The People’s Republic of China [PRC] initiative
-Briefing of Congressional leaders and Cabinet
-President’s role
-Henry A. Kissinger’s role
-Reaction by other countries
-William P. Rogers
-Briefings
-Speculation
-Expression of views
-Taiwan issue
-Vietnam War
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-Knowledge
-Wire service report
-Kissinger
Agnew
-Statements made in Madrid, Spain
-Comments about African Blacks
-Slavery
-US Black leaders
-Domestic, foreign impact
-Ralph Abernathy
US-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] relations
-General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Kissinger
-Summit possibility
-The President’s stance
Taiwan issue
-Perceptions
Cover photographs
-Use by magazines
-The President
Foreign relations
-The PRC, Vietnam
-Democratic response
-J. William Fulbright
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
Congressional leaders meeting
Ziegler left at 12:08 pmAlso recorded on July 19, 1971
- 539-004 11:12 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:18 am.
- 539-005 11:12 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:18 am.
- 539-006 11:18 AM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:18 am to 11:37 am.
- 539-008 12:08 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:48 pm.
- 539-009 12:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:48 pm.
- 539-010 12:08 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:48 pm.
- 539-011 12:08 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:48 pm.
- 539-012 12:08 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 1:08 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 539-007, July 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/539-007 (accessed October 11, 2026).