Former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific John H. Holdridge was intimately involved in the historic events surrounding the establishment of relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. With responsibility for East Asia on the National Security Council staff in 1969 - 73, he helped President Richard Nixon and his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, prepare for their first visits to China and accompanied them there. Holdridge was present in Shanghai when the historic framework agreement was completed and announced on 28 February 1972. These events and the subsequent key agreements in January 1979 and August 1982 have guided relations between the two countries ever since.

Ambassador Holdridge's personal account of the background and negotiations for these agreements recounts the impediments to normalizing relations and the diplomatic maneuvering and negotiations that overcame them. Crossing the Divide also examines the broad sweep of U.S.-China relations after World War II and the challenges that continue to confront the important United States-China relationship.

Other Readers' Reviews

• Foreign Service Journal (September 1997):

"Holdridge provides a readable, well-grounded account of how persistent, arduous diplomacy overcame years of suspicion and roadblocks thrown up by domestic groups in both China and the United States. He argues that building a stable, productive Sino-American relationship was and remains an awesome task requiring the best of American diplomatic skills. . . . From the joy of the broad international picture to the agony of detailed briefings, this book describes diplomacy's important nuts and mundane bolts."

• William P. Bundy, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and editor of Foreign Policy:

"John Holdridge's Crossing the Divide is a unique first-person account of Sino-American relations right through the postwar period, based on constant responsibility and participation [as a senior State Department officer, deputy chief of the liaison office in Beijing, and assistant secretary of state]. It is a gold mine for both scholars and lay observers, deceptively low-key, balanced, comprehensive, and full of personal color. I recommend it in the strongest terms."

• Barber B. Conable Jr., Chairman of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations:

"In 1972 the Shanghai Communiqué surprised us and ushered in a new era in U.S.-Chinese relations. In this book a skilled, professional insider with a memory for details leads us through this germinal event and describes many of the ups and downs that have since occurred."

• Chun-Tu Hsueh, President of the Huan Hsing Foundation:

"Ambassador Holdridge's book is an insider's account enlivened with humorous anecdotes. The author's views, which reflect experience and wisdom, are instructive to scholars, policymakers, and the general public."

• American Journal of Chinese Studies (Vol. 5):

"The book is strongest in its accounts of Holdridge's first-hand experiences. The descriptions of Chinese negotiating practices, life in Beijing during the days of the Liaison Office, and travels with Kissinger and the Nixons are fascinating."