The Shanghai Communique was hailed as a brilliant Kissingerian solution and a significant step toward rapprochement.

CNN: Relations across the Taiwan Strait

It was here, 37 years ago, that the Shanghai Communique opened the door to a new chapter of engagement between our governments and among our people.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Holds Town Hall with Chinese Youth

Of course this small opening was followed by the achievement of the Shanghai Communique, and the eventual establishment of formal relations between the United States and China in 1979.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Holds Town Hall with Chinese Youth

Enshrined in the Shanghai Communique of February 1972 is the statement that all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait agreed there was only one China and that the United States recognized this position.

CNN: Relations across the Taiwan Strait