Confidentiality And Effectiveness Of Trade-offs

From 1969 to 1971, six third-parties were invited by Nixon and Kissinger or offered help by themselves to play as the mediators and communicate the information between U.S. and China, trying to facilitate the direct high-level talk to help make the adversary relation of the two disputing main power with 20-year-long tension and isolation to reach detente.The activity and story of the secret contact and channel of China and U.S. from 1969-1971 is a basic-level but typical multi-parties mediation. The choice of mediators by White House caused different mediation outcomes of different mediators. The offer of mediation by Yugoslavia Ambassador in Kabul Vojo Sobajic and by Norwegian diplomats was not accepted by Nixon and Kissinger. Meanwhile, U.S. positively requested the presidents of Pakistan and Romania and Jean Sainteny, a French Banker and cautiously accepted the personal initiative of Dutch diplomat, J. J. Derkson, to help communicate with China. In this process of trying use different one as mediator, the White House estimated and measured the effectiveness and secrecy of the possible mediators. At last, U.S. side chose Pakistan as the only mediator between China and U.S. to arrange, coordinate and help Kissinger's first secret visit to Beijing. Pakistan had eventually finished his role as the main mediator between China and U.S. in success.Due to the consideration of risk management, Nixon and Kissinger paid great attention to keep the concerned contact activity with China in secret, which also led them to attach much importance on the secrecy of the mediators between China and U.S. Therefore, in this special situation of secret mediation, the secrecy of mediators was the essential condition and prerequisite standard for U.S. choice. Nixon and Kissinger would take effectiveness into consideration for the choice of mediators only if the secrecy of one potential mediator reached a fairly high level. In fact, the choice of mediators by Nixon and Kissinger was made in according to the measurement and balance of the secrecy and effectiveness of the six third-parties. Because of the high secrecy as well as high effectiveness, Pakistan won the confidence and choice of the White House.In addition, in the mediation process of the secret contact of China and U.S., the method and way of mediation resulting in the different secrecy of mediators played a role as important as the identity type of the mediator which mainly influenced the effectiveness of the mediators. To some extent, the method of mediation even played a more crucial role than the identity type of mediators.In study of the mediation between China and U.S. (1969-1971), the paper reveals that:Except for some general criteria such as the effectiveness, secrecy as a kind of special criteria also plays an important role in parties'choice of mediator in the secret mediation as a special type of mediation distinct from common types. In the secret mediation, the secrecy of the mediator usually becomes the essential condition and standard for disputing parties to choose mediator. Moreover, the method of mediation which influences the secrecy of mediator to a large extent is also a crucial element for such choice.