Ambassadors Winston Lord & J. Stapleton Roy: 45 Years of the Shanghai Communique

On February 27, 1972, the United States and China issued the Shanghai Communiqué, a document that set the stage for the normalization of relations between two countries that had been estranged for the prior 23 years. The joint statement was negotiated by President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai during President Nixon’s ground-breaking trip to China. The Communiqué changed the strategic landscape and has served as the foundation for U.S.-China relations since that time.

Former U.S. Ambassadors to China Winston Lord (1985-89) and J. Stapleton Roy (1991-95) discuss events leading to the issuing of the Communique, the establishment of formal relations, and the effects on U.S.-China relations and the world. The conversation, moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins, was held on February 21, 2017 in New York City.

Ambassador Winston Lord currently serves as chairman emeritus of the International Rescue Committee, the largest non-sectarian organization that both helps refugees abroad and resettles them in the United States. The IRC operates in some 40 countries and 25 American cities. Lord has had a long career of bipartisan service in the U.S. government and the private sector.

For 45 years Ambassador Lord has been at the center of U.S.-China relations. As special assistant to the National Security Advisor he accompanied Henry Kissinger on his secret visit to China and President Nixon on his historic opening in the early 1970’s, as well as subsequent trips by President Ford and Dr. Kissinger. From 1985 to 1989 he served as Ambassador to China under Presidents Reagan and Bush. From 1993 to 1997 he was assistant secretary of state in charge of all East Asian Policy, including China, under President Clinton.

Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy retired from the Foreign Service in January 2001 after a career spanning 45 years with the U.S. Department of State. A fluent Chinese speaker, Ambassador Roy spent much of his career in East Asia, where his assignments included Bangkok (twice), Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing (twice), Singapore, and Jakarta. He also specialized in Soviet affairs and served in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. Ambassador Roy served as ambassador three times: in Singapore (1984-86), the People’s Republic of China (1991-95), and Indonesia (1996-99). In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of career ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service. Ambassador Roy’s final post with the State Department was as assistant secretary for Intelligence and Research. In 2001 he received Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Service.

In January 2001, Ambassador Roy joined Kissinger Associates, Inc., a strategic consulting firm, as managing director. For several years he was director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; he is now director of the Wilson Center’s Asia Program. Ambassador Roy is also a director of the National Committee.

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (www.ncuscr.org) is the leading nonprofit nonpartisan organization that encourages understanding of China and the United States among citizens of both countries.

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