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(Stars and Stripes)

Geneva, Switzerland, April 1954: Members of the Soviet and Chinese delegations relax during East-West talks on the situation in Indochina. Behind the “USSR” card is Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov; to his right is his deputy (and future Soviet President) Andrei Gromyko. At bottom left (in the dark suit) is Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai (then spelled Chou En-Lai), whose relationship with U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was a sidelight of the conference. Dulles refused to meet with Zhou, in no uncertain terms; 18 years later, when President Richard Nixon went to China, he warmly shook hands with Zhou in what was regarded as a response to Dulles’ earlier snub. The Geneva conference was held at a time when the French were a week away from defeat in Vietnam; another meeting in July resulted in the division of Vietnam into northern and southern portions.

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