February 5
The CPC Central Committee and the State Council approved the Report on Importing Complete Sets of Technical Equipment for Chemical Fiber and Chemical Fertilizer submitted by the State Planning Commission. On January 2, 1973, the State Planning Commission proposed to import complete sets of industrial equipment and single pieces of machinery worth $4.3 billion.
February 21–28
President Richard Nixon of the United States visited China. Before that, the US table tennis team visited China in April of 1971 after receiving an invitation; Henry Kissinger, a special assistant to the US president in national security, visited China twice in July and October of 1971. During his visit, Nixon met with Mao Zedong and held talks with Zhou Enlai. On February 28, China and the United States signed the Shanghai Joint Communiqué, which marked the beginning of the process of normalization of relations between the two countries.
September 25–30
Japanese Premier Tanaka Kakuei visited China on invitation, expecting to negotiate and address the issue of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Mao Zedong met with the Japanese premier, and Zhou Enlai held talks with him. On September 29, China and Japan signed a joint statement, declaring the establishment of diplomatic relations.
November 8
The 27th General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution, removing Hong Kong and Macau from the list of colonial territories which embodied a “Declaration on Non-Self-Governing Territories” and making clear that Hong Kong and Macau did not have the status of colonial territories.
From: Chronicle of the People's Republic of China (October 1949 — September 2019) ,edited by The Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, PP77-78