What’s new: President Xi Jinping met with Henry Kissinger in Beijing on Thursday, expressing “high regards” for the former U.S. Secretary of State’s “historic contribution” to advancing China-U.S. relations, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Xi addressed Kissinger as an “old friend” during their first meeting in over three years, noting that the 100-year-old veteran U.S. diplomat has visited China more than 100 times over the past half century, according to a CCTV video.
Thursday’s meeting was held in the same Diaoyutai State Guesthouse villa where Kissinger met then-Premier Zhou Enlai in July 1971, a meeting that began the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing.
“The Chinese people do not forget their old friends,” Xi said in the CCTV video, adding that “China-U.S. relations will always be tied to the name of Kissinger.”
Kissinger said it was a “great privilege” to visit China and stated that the U.S-China relationship is crucial to global peace and the progress of humanity, according to CCTV.
The background: Earlier this week, Kissinger also met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Defense Minister Li Shangfu in Beijing.
Kissinger first visited Beijing on a secret trip to pave the way for then-U.S. President Richard Nixon’s trip which took place in 1972. The People’s Republic of China and the U.S. formally established diplomatic relations on Jan. 1, 1979.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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