mar 2, 1969 - The Sino-Soviet border conflict breaks out along the Soviet and Chinese border

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"In March 1969, fighting broke out between Soviet and Chinese troops along the Ussuri River, the border their nations shared in Northeast Asia.

By August, there were rumours of all-out war between the world’s most powerful communist states…Mao called in his personal physician, Li Zhisui, and presented him with a problem:
“Think about this… we have the Soviet Union to the north and the west, India to the south, and Japan to the east. If all our enemies were to unite, attacking us from the north, south, east, and west, what do you think we should do?” Li confessed that he did not know. “Think again,” Mao told him. “Beyond Japan is the US. Didn’t our ancestors counsel negotiating with faraway countries while fighting with those that are near?”

Li was shocked, recalling the long history of Sino-American hostility: “How could we negotiated with the US?” Mao replied:
“The United States and the Soviet Union are different… America’s new president, Richard Nixon, is a longtime rightist, a leader of the anti-communist there. I like to deal with rightists. They saw what they really think – not like the leftists who say one thing and mean another.” (Gaddis 2006, p. 149)

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