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| A Grandson Visits China in Footsteps of Nixon | A Grandson Visits China in Footsteps of Nixon |
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| BEIJING — Christopher Nixon Cox retraced his grandfather’s historic 1972 trip to China on Friday, trailed through Tiananmen Square by an entourage of aging Nixon administration luminaries, paparazzi from the state news media, and Chinese security agents. | |
| The trip, timed for the year of President Richard M. Nixon’s 100th birthday, was carefully organized to lionize the accomplishments of both the Nixon administration and the Chinese Communist Party. Over the next 10 days, the delegation will dine with Chinese officials, hike the Great Wall, coo at pandas and ride a new bullet train to Shanghai. | The trip, timed for the year of President Richard M. Nixon’s 100th birthday, was carefully organized to lionize the accomplishments of both the Nixon administration and the Chinese Communist Party. Over the next 10 days, the delegation will dine with Chinese officials, hike the Great Wall, coo at pandas and ride a new bullet train to Shanghai. |
| Mr. Cox, 34, a New York investment banker with political ambitions, was eager to bask in the celebratory glow of a Nixonian legacy uncomplicated by memories of Watergate and a resignation in disgrace. | Mr. Cox, 34, a New York investment banker with political ambitions, was eager to bask in the celebratory glow of a Nixonian legacy uncomplicated by memories of Watergate and a resignation in disgrace. |
| “My grandfather’s trip was about friendship, cooperation and building bridges,” he said, deftly weaving through a knot of Chinese tourists posing for photos near Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. “I hope my visit carries on that spirit for a new generation.” | “My grandfather’s trip was about friendship, cooperation and building bridges,” he said, deftly weaving through a knot of Chinese tourists posing for photos near Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. “I hope my visit carries on that spirit for a new generation.” |
| Yet the cooperation born 41 years ago has grown into an awkward competition for geopolitical and economic power. Tensions are rising over a range of thorny issues, including cyberwarfare and territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, many of them longtime American allies. | Yet the cooperation born 41 years ago has grown into an awkward competition for geopolitical and economic power. Tensions are rising over a range of thorny issues, including cyberwarfare and territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, many of them longtime American allies. |
| Although Mr. Cox stood out in the crowd as he toured the city in a tailored gray suit, his wife, Andrea Catsimatidis Cox, 23, attracted even more attention with her crimson dress and blond hair. She is the daughter of John A. Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes supermarket chain and a New York mayoral candidate. | Although Mr. Cox stood out in the crowd as he toured the city in a tailored gray suit, his wife, Andrea Catsimatidis Cox, 23, attracted even more attention with her crimson dress and blond hair. She is the daughter of John A. Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes supermarket chain and a New York mayoral candidate. |
| For the handful of former members of the Nixon administration who were part of Mr. Cox’s delegation of more than 40 people, seeing Beijing clogged with luxury cars and modern skyscrapers reaffirmed the importance of President Nixon’s historic handshake with Mao. | For the handful of former members of the Nixon administration who were part of Mr. Cox’s delegation of more than 40 people, seeing Beijing clogged with luxury cars and modern skyscrapers reaffirmed the importance of President Nixon’s historic handshake with Mao. |
| Jack Brennan, 75, a retired Marine colonel who accompanied the president to China in 1972, recalled a vastly different city in which everyone wore monochromatic Mao suits. “It was like you were in the 14th century,” he said. | Jack Brennan, 75, a retired Marine colonel who accompanied the president to China in 1972, recalled a vastly different city in which everyone wore monochromatic Mao suits. “It was like you were in the 14th century,” he said. |
| On Friday evening, the delegation dined at the Great Hall of the People, where in 1972 Mr. Nixon got tipsy from toasting shots of grain alcohol with Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. The host of Friday’s banquet was Yang Jiechi, a former foreign minister who is now a member of the State Council, China’s cabinet. | On Friday evening, the delegation dined at the Great Hall of the People, where in 1972 Mr. Nixon got tipsy from toasting shots of grain alcohol with Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. The host of Friday’s banquet was Yang Jiechi, a former foreign minister who is now a member of the State Council, China’s cabinet. |