Baijiu is unique among spirits in that it is specifically used during important meetings. One might dismiss this role, saying “what does it matter whether Baijiu is imbibed at a meeting or not?” But in fact drinking Baijiu at a meeting can and does make a major difference!
In no historical instance is Baijiu’s positive effect during a meeting more apparent than during President Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. The National Security Archive at George Washington University writes that “Richard Nixon’s trip to China… was a critically important moment in the early history of the Sino-American rapprochement.” In other words, President Nixon’s trip was high stakes; at the time, the U.S. and China did not have a good diplomatic relationship, and he was seeking to change that.
One of the things he did while on his trip was go to a banquet and drink Baijiu with Chinese Premier Zhou. The New York Times puts it this way: “in 1972, President Richard Nixon got glassy-eyed from Moutai toasts at a state banquet.” Getting a bit tipsy on Baijiu with the Chinese leader seems like a pretty straightforward thing to do, yet White House aides were firmly opposed to the President consuming any Baijiu, perhaps fearing that he would speak too freely and cause offense. But in fact the opposite happened; he became quite merry and enjoyed the Baijiu so much that he took some home! More importantly, the meeting went very well — no doubt helped by the Baijiu — resulting in a successful re-establishment of Sino-American relations. In other words, Baijiu made a decisive difference in mending relations between the U.S. and China.
Sources:
- http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB106/index.htm
- http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/one-chinese-liquor-brand-is-the-life-of-the-party/