More legacies

– Previous American presidents have also reached out to long-term foes, holding what turned out to be legacy-defining meetings:

Reagan and Gorbachev, 1986

Following a decades-long Cold War arms race that saw the US and the Soviet Union amass tens of thousands of nuclear warheads, the two superpowers sat down to discuss a radical proposal: the elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in Iceland’s capital. The Reykjavik talks collapsed. But the summit led to a treaty the next year under which both Cold War powers would eliminate their short- and intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

Nixon and China, 1972 The US broke off ties with China when the communists, led by Mao Zedong, took over the country in 1949. Then Richard Nixon won the 1968 US presidential election and decided to reach out to Beijing.

It started with secret contacts in 1971.

In February 1972 Nixon in China met the top Chinese leadership, including Mao.

It led to full diplomatic ties in December 1978. –

Singapore