Henry Kissinger came to China to meet with the leadership of the country

Henry Kissinger, who celebrated his 100th birthday in May, arrived in China and is holding a series of meetings with the country’s leadership. Thanks to his efforts in the 1970s. US authorities were able to establish ties with Beijing for the first time. As a result, in 1979 the United States recognized China as the only “legitimate China”. The normalization of relations between the two states, which were then at enmity with the USSR, largely influenced the outcome of the Cold War. Now, in the US-China-Russia triangle, it is Washington that has the worst relations with the other two countries, which Kissinger pointed out even during the presidency of Donald Trump as an unfavorable factor.

According to Reuters and Xinhua, on July 19, Kissinger was received by Wang Yi, head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, who has recently also been doing work for the disappeared Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Wang praised Kissinger’s “historical contribution to the development of Sino-American relations”, adding that even now he plays “an indispensable role in strengthening mutual understanding between the two countries.”

“China cherishes its friendship with old friends,” China’s top diplomat curtsied. At the same time, Wang also tried to directly stab the current US ruling class – in his opinion, this country’s policy towards China “lacks Kissinger’s wisdom and courage [бывшего президента США Ричарда] Nixon.” It was Nixon who, in 1972, became the first American president to visit China at the suggestion of Kissinger.

“China’s development has a strong internal driving force and an inevitable historical logic, China cannot be attempted to transform, much less contained,” Wang said. He warned that the US must distance itself from the Taiwan separatists if they want to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Kissinger, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, assured that the United States will continue to adhere to the policy of “one China” (ie, will not recognize Taiwan as a separate state). At the same time, Beijing and Washington, in his opinion, should treat each other as equals and maintain contacts.

The day before, the authoritative American also met with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who refuses to meet Pentagon representatives because he has been on the US sanctions list since 2018 for purchasing weapons from Russia. He also pointed out that “some people in the United States could not go along with China in one direction” and that this led to the lowest point in relations between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979.

Kissinger remarked at a meeting with the general that “China and the United States cannot afford to treat each other as adversaries,” as history testifies. Moreover, he stressed that if these countries “start a war, it will not lead to anything good for either side.”

At the same time, the ex-secretary of state called on the current leaders of both countries to show wisdom and work together, and the defense departments of the two countries to resume bilateral ties. Acting Secretary of State Anthony Blinken came to Beijing with the same call a month ago, but was directly refused.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called Kissinger’s trip a private affair, but he added that he “won’t be surprised if Kissinger informs US officials about his conversations with the Chinese authorities.”

The last time Kissinger was in China before the pandemic was in 2019, when he also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Back in 2011, the ex-secretary of state wrote the book “About China”, in which he outlined his understanding of this country and its history and spoke about his experience in building relations between the two countries.

Kissinger was never a close friend of the military, even at the height of his career, says Alexander Lomanov, head of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at IMEMO. And this speaks in favor of the version that his current conversation with Minister Lee is most likely a separate mission that was entrusted to Kissinger by the Pentagon. They could have considered the ex-secretary of state a consensus figure through which some important messages in the security sphere could be conveyed to Beijing. According to Lomanov, without such a need, Beijing would hardly have agreed on such a visit in the current conditions.

Timofei Bordachev, the research director of the HSE Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, has a different opinion. According to him, Kissinger’s entire trip is connected purely with his personal affairs – for the past 30 years he has provided various consulting services in the Chinese direction. Thus, his real goal could be an agreement on the withdrawal of his interests from the various existing risks, the expert concludes.