Is it true that the US Secretary of State refused to shake hands with Zhou Enlai at the Geneva meeting?

At the Geneva meeting, the US Secretary of State refused to shake hands with Zhou Enlai, which was false.

Because Zhou Enlai knew Smith's attitude towards China in advance, he pretended to shake hands with Smith. At this time, Smith had a cigar in his right hand and a coffee cup in his left.

Seeing Zhou Enlai shaking hands with him, he quickly handed a cup of coffee originally held in his left hand to his right hand and apologized to Zhou Enlai. But Smith and Zhou Enlai greeted each other and took the initiative to touch Zhou Enlai's arm with their own arms to show their friendship.

However, Dulles' hostility to New China was almost crazy. Before the Geneva meeting, he personally ordered the American delegation to forbid any personnel of the American delegation to shake hands with any personnel of the China delegation.

Extended data:

According to diplomatic veterans, the Geneva conference lasted for a long time, totaling more than 40 days. From the day of its participation, the American delegation was determined not to let the Geneva meeting reach any settlement agreement.

So Dulles returned to China on May 3 1954 about a week after attending the meeting, leaving Deputy Secretary of State Smith to preside over the work of the American delegation.

This Smith is an American general. During World War II, he led American troops to fight against German fascism in Europe. He is personally willing to be friendly with the new China, but he also has reservations about the hostility of the US government to the new China.

At that time, after learning Dulles's hostile attitude towards China, Premier Zhou still said to all the staff of our delegation: China staff should not take the initiative to reach out and ask for a handshake when they meet people from the American delegation under any circumstances.

If the American personnel take the initiative to shake hands in return, China should not refuse.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-john foster dulles

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-walter bedell smith