Xi Jinping Meets with Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing

BEIJING (AFP): Chinese President Xi Jinping met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (pictured) in Beijing on Thursday (July 20), calling the centenarian a “legendary diplomat”, state media reported.

Kissinger used the visit to call for reconciliation between the United States and China, which remain at odds over a range of disputes ranging from human rights to trade and national security.

The visit also overlaps with that of US climate envoy John Kerry, following recent visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“On July 20, President Xi Jinping met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse,” CCTV reported, praising his role in opening Sino-U.S. relations in the 1970s.

Chinese state media provided no further details about the meeting, which took place in Building 5 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the site of Kissinger’s historic meeting with then-Premier Zhou Enlai in 1971.

As US national security adviser, Kissinger secretly flew to Beijing in July 1971 on a mission to establish relations with communist China.

That visit laid the groundwork for a landmark visit by former U.S. President Richard Nixon, who sought to shake up the Cold War and seek help to end the Vietnam War.

Washington’s overtures to an isolated Beijing have helped China’s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse and the world’s second-largest economy.

Since leaving office, Kissinger, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, has grown rich advising businesses on China and has warned against a hawkish turn in U.S. policy.

“Dr Kissinger has visited China more than 100 times since 1971,” CCTV said on Thursday.

On May 27 this year, the legendary diplomat celebrated his 100th birthday, and this visit is also his first visit to China since his centenary.

“Kissinger said that in today’s world, challenges and opportunities coexist, and the United States and China should eliminate misunderstandings, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation,” he told Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Tuesday, according to Xinhua, the official news agency.

Kissinger also met with top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday, who praised Kissinger for his “historic contribution to the ice-breaking development of Sino-US relations.”

“U.S. policy toward China requires Kissingerian diplomatic wisdom and Nixonian political courage,” Wang said.