Core Collections on U.S.-China Relations
September 2008

During the Ford administration, 1974-77, the United States continued the process of normalizing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) even while maintaining formal relations with the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan.  The Ford Library has extensive archival materials from this period, plus some earlier and later materials.  Core “open” collections are summarized below, but many additional “open” collections also hold valuable material.  This list omits pertinent collections that are currently closed as part of the Library’s processing backlog.

Research room hours are 8:45 am to 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday except Federal holidays. Telephone (734) 205-0555. E-mail ford.library@nara.gov

View detailed inventories of the archival collections summarized below by clicking on the collection titles. The website offers a selection of relevant Memoranda of Conversations and also photographs from President Ford’s 1975 trip to China.

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HARTMANN, ROBERT T.: Papers, (1884) 1934-83
As a senior adviser to House Minority Leader Ford, Hartmann traveled to China in 1972 with the delegation led by Congressmen Hale Boggs and Gerald Ford. Materials relating to this trip are found in Boxes 41-44. Reports to President Nixon and the House of Representatives, transcripts of discussions with Chinese leaders, press materials, and Hartmann’s personal journal written during a portion of the trip are included. As a Stanford University graduate on a world tour in 1938, Hartmann visited Japanese-occupied Manchuria, collecting miscellaneous publications and attempting several news stories that are found in Boxes 12-13.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER. KISSINGER REPORTS ON USSR, CHINA, AND MIDDLE EAST DISCUSSIONS, 1974-76
The collection includes memoranda of conversations and reports to the President of Kissinger’s meetings with Chinese leaders on his November 1974 and October 1975 trips to China and September 1975 meetings with PRC officials in New York City. There are also memoranda of conversations from President Ford’s meetings in Beijing. Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-Lai, and Teng Hsiao P’ing are among the Chinese participants in the discussions.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER.  KISSINGER-SCOWCROFT WEST WING OFFICE FILES,  (1973) 1974-77
Boxes 4-6 concern China.  They include a set of numbered documents, called “China Exchanges,” showing direct communications between U.S. and Chinese officials from May 1, 1973 through December 24, 1975.  The boxes also include a set of unnumbered documents that are not limited to direct exchanges.  The files cover a broad range of subjects within the context of the normalization process, including: the Vietnam War, détente and the Soviet Union, Taiwan, President Ford’s trip to China, and domestic issues faced by both countries.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER. MEMORANDA OF CONVERSATIONS, 1973-77
This collection consists of transcript-like records of President Ford’s conversations with foreign leaders, U.S. defense and foreign policy officials, and others. Similar records for some of President Nixon’s 1973 conversations are also included. Chinese leaders participated in many of these conversations, and China was a topic of discussion in many others.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER.  NSC EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS STAFF:  FILES, (1969) 1973-76
Several series in this collection, especially the “Country Files” and “Richard H. Solomon Subject Files,” contain material on the PRC and the ROC.  The documents concern a broad range of topics, including the development of diplomatic relations and the expansion of trade and cultural exchanges between the United States and the PRC.  Other topics include: Korea, the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the appointments and tenures of George H. W. Bush and Thomas Gates as Chiefs of the United States Liaison Office in Peking, visits of U.S. congressional delegations to China, and President Ford’s 1975 trip.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER. PRESIDENTIAL CORRESPONDENCE WITH FOREIGN LEADERS, 1974-77
This collection of letters and telegrams includes correspondence with Premier Chiang Ching-kuo (ROC) , Premier Chou En-lai (PRC), and Premier Hua Kuo-feng (PRC). The correspondence is both routine courtesy and substantive in nature. Substantive topics include the President’s trip to China and the U.S. relationship with Taiwan in light of the normalization process.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER. PRESIDENTIAL COUNTRY FILES FOR EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: Files, 1974-77
The files contain substantive White House, National Security Council, and State Department materials concerning China and Taiwan. The collection also contains State Department telegrams exchanged between Washington and the liaison office in Beijing and embassy in Taipei. Among the many topics covered are President Ford’s trip, the appointment and tenure of George H. W. Bush as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing, the appointment of Thomas Gates to succeed Bush, normalization and its impact on Taiwan, and proposed U.S. force reductions on Taiwan.

UNITED STATES-CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL: Records, 1973-88
Initially called the National Council for United States-China Trade, this organization of member businesses was created with the support of the U.S. government to facilitate trade in accordance with the Shanghai Communique. The organization is now active in all forms of business and commercial activities between the U.S. and China. The records show the work of the Council in its interaction with Chinese counterparts, escorting delegations to and from China, facilitating U.S. attendance at Chinese trade fairs, providing business advisory services to its member companies, and publication and research activities. The collection also includes the extensive library holdings maintained by the Council. Only the 1973-82 records are currently processed and available.

U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Institutional records, 1974-77
The official records of the Ford-era NSC include NSSM 212 “U.S. Security Assistance to the ROC,” NSSM 235 “U.S. Interests and Objectives in the Asia-Pacific Area,” NSDM 261 “Nuclear Sales to the PRC,” and NSDM 339 “U.S. Force Reductions on Taiwan.”

AUDIOVISUAL COLLECTIONS
The AV collections include an extensive photograph record of Ford’s 1972 and 1975 visits to China, plus video of network evening news coverage of the 1975 trip.