 Salim's support dropped after the first round, as some countries believed that the United States was implacably opposed to Salim, while China had previously dropped its veto of Waldheim in 1971 and 1976.However, neither country would relent, as the selection deadlocked for 6 weeks over a total of 16 rounds of voting.The deadlock finally ended when Waldheim and Salim both withdrew from the race, opening up the selection to other candidates.