The Shanghai Communique was issued in 1972.

 In 1972, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China. Cold War enemies, the U.S. and China had a very strained political relationship during the 1950s and 1960s. The U.S. refused to recognize the new Communist government, the People's Republic of China, following Mao Zedong's 1949 revolution, instead recognizing the Nationalist government of Taiwan as the true Chinese government.

The two countries also clashed in their support of opposite sides in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. As America's involvement in Vietnam grew more and more problematic and China's relationship with the Soviet Union worsened in the early 1970s, Nixon and his advisors saw an opportunity for the U.S. and China to develop closer ties. During Nixon's historic trip to China, talks were held between the U.S. and Chinese governments. The Shanghai Communiqué was a joint statement from President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai summarizing these talks.

Although the Communiqué mentioned numerous areas of disagreement, particularly over events in Asia, areas of agreement were also described. Both countries agreed on the need for peaceful relations and increased trade and travel between the United States and China. The U.S. also agreed to gradually reduce its military presence in Taiwan. Dramatic changes were made in U.S. policies toward China in the years following Nixon's trip, eventually leading to the U.S. severing diplomatic relations with the government in Taiwan and formally recognizing the People's Republic of China.

EDSITEment 
Another historical visitor to China was Marco Polo, a young Venetian adventurer whose writings about China inspired many generations of explorers. In two lessons from EDSITEment, On the Road with Marco Polo: Crossing the Deserts of China (3-5) and On the Road with Marco Polo: Marco Polo in China (3-5), students can learn about China as Marco Polo found it during his travels there in the 13th century. The lessons are part of a larger curriculum unit, On the Road with Marco Polo (3-5), based on Marco Polo's travels.

ReadWriteThink 
ReadWriteThink provides references for a number of resources on China in the handout Text Set: China Then & Now. This handout was created as an example of a text set for the ReadWriteThink lesson, An Exploration of Text Sets: Supporting All Readers (6-8). In the lesson, the class community puts together a collection of text sets, each including books, charts and maps, informational pamphlets, poetry and songs, photographs, non-fiction books, almanacs, encyclopedias and other resources, on topics of keen interest.

Xpeditions 
Cross-cultural relations and negotiations, such as the talks between President Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai, are complicated by differences in customs, body language and other areas. In Is a Smile Always Just a Smile? (9-12), students are introduced to many subtle differences in cultures and customs that must be appreciated in order to function socially, academically and professionally in a multicultural world.

As U.S. policy toward China changed, trade between the two countries became increasingly important. China is among the countries students consider in the lesson Products Across Borders (6-8), as they learn about foreign products available in the United States and about U.S. companies that sell products abroad.