Nixon held office during the Cold War, a sustained period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nixon's foreign policy focused on détente with the Soviet Union and China, as he sought to move away from traditional ideological conflicts and the policy of containment. Détente was designed to relax tensions with the Soviet Union, reduce nuclear arsenals, and limit military commitments.
Kennedy's strategy was to paint the Republican administration in which Nixon served as timid, indecisive, and given to poor strategizing in terms of the Cold War. Nixon, on the other hand, wanted to portray Kennedy as naive and much too willing to compromise with the Soviets and communist Chinese.
Richard Nixon changed Cold War diplomacy most notably by his efforts to open diplomatic ties between the United States and China. By doing this, he drove a wedge between China and the Soviet Union and, thereby, helped to improve relations between the US and the USSR.
He focused on détente with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, easing Cold War tensions with both countries. As part of this policy, Nixon signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and SALT I, two landmark arms control treaties with the Soviet Union.
