By Richard N. Haass
Much of lasting significance happened in 1979. There was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Iran’s Islamic revolution, which brought to power a regime set on remaking not just Iranian society but also much of the Middle East.
Just as important was the United States’ decision to recognise, effective 1 January that year, the government of the People’s Republic of China—then, as today, run by the Communist Party—as China’s sole legal government. The change paved the way for expansion of trade and investment between the world’s largest economy and the world’s most populous country, and enabled closer collaboration against the Soviet Union.
