only Nixon could go to China

English

Alternative forms

• only Nixon can go to China
• it took Nixon to go to China

Etymology

A reference to U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 establishment of direct diplomatic relations with, and personal visit to, the People's Republic of China. Nixon's unyielding opposition to Communism had been well-known.

Proverb

only Nixon could go to China

1. Only a politician or leader with an impeccable reputation of upholding particular political values could perform an action in seeming defiance of them without jeopardizing his support or credibility.

See also

• Nixon in China
• Nixon to China
• Nixon goes to China
• it took Nixon to go to China