Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday hailed former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger as an “old friend” as the two met in Beijing.
Kissinger’s visit to China this week has seen him call for a rapprochement between Washington and Beijing, which remain at loggerheads over a range of issues, from human rights to trade and national security.
The 100-year-old diplomat was central to the US establishing ties with communist China in the 1970s and has maintained close contact with the country’s leaders over the years.
Photo: AFP
“Chinese people value friendship, and we will never forget our old friend and your historic contribution to promoting the development of China-US relations and enhancing the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples,” Xi said, according to state media.
“This not only benefited the two countries, but also changed the world,” Xi added.
“The world is currently experiencing changes not seen in a century, and the international order is undergoing enormous change,” he said.
“China and the United States are once more at a crossroads, and both sides must once again make a choice,” he added.
Kissinger, in response, thanked Xi for hosting him at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse’s building No. 5 — where he met with then-
Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (周恩來) in 1971.
“The relations between our two countries will be central to the peace in the world and to the progress of our societies,” the former diplomat said.
Kissinger secretly flew to Beijing in 1971 on a mission to establish relations with communist China.
The trip set the stage for a landmark visit by then-US president Richard Nixon, who sought both to shake up the Cold War and enlist help in ending the Vietnam War.
Washington’s overtures to an isolated Beijing contributed to China’s rise to become a manufacturing powerhouse and the world’s second-largest economy.
Since leaving office, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kissinger has grown wealthy advising businesses on China — and has warned against a hawkish turn in US policy.
His trip this week also overlapped with a trip by US climate envoy John Kerry, and follows recent visits by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Since 1971, Dr Kissinger has visited China more than 100 times,” China Central Television said.
State news agency Xinhua reported him as telling Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu (李尚福) on Tuesday that, “in today’s world, challenges and opportunities coexist, and both the United States and China should eliminate misunderstandings, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation.”
Kissinger also met on Wednesday with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi (王毅), who praised Kissinger’s “historic contributions to the ice-breaking development of China-US relations.”
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