100-year-old former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who has urged the United States to take a more conciliatory approach to China, has made a surprise visit to Beijing, meeting with China’s defense minister.
President Richard M. The previously unannounced trip by Mr. Kissinger, who helped pave the way for diplomatic ties between the United States and China 50 years ago under the Nixon administration, coincided with a series of visits to American officials currently serving China.
On Tuesday, the day Mr. Kissinger met with Defense Minister Li Shangfu, President Biden’s climate change envoy, John Kerry, met with China’s premier and top foreign policy official. In recent weeks, current Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have traveled to Beijing to try and stabilize US-China relations.
But while those officials were met with varying degrees of coolness or condescension from Chinese officials or state media, reflecting geopolitical tensions, the Defense Ministry’s description of the meeting with Mr. Kissinger was lukewarm. Mr Kissinger’s meeting with Mr Li is notable: China last month declined a request for Mr Li to meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a summit in Singapore. (China blamed the rejection of US sanctions on Mr. Li.)
During Mr Blinken’s visit last month, Chinese officials again rejected a request to reopen direct channels of military-to-military communications.
According to a Defense Department statement, Mr. Mr. Kissinger met. Li said.
Mr. Li criticized “some people in the United States” for not “meeting China halfway”, noting that the atmosphere for friendly communication had been “destroyed”.
Mr Kissinger, according to the Defense Ministry, said he was “here as a friend of China” and that the two countries “must overcome misunderstandings, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation”.
It was not immediately clear how long Mr Kissinger would stay in Beijing or whether he would meet with other officials, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Mr Xi and Mr Kissinger met in Beijing in 2019, when Mr Xi told Mr Kissinger he hoped he would “enjoy many healthy years ahead and continue to be a pioneer and contributor to China-US relations”. to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
China’s state media has showered Mr Kissinger with praise, particularly as the recent US presidential administration has taken a more aggressive stance towards Beijing.
In a May article, Mr. On Kissinger’s 100th birthday, the Global Times, a nationalist party-run tabloid, said Mr. Kissinger was “legendary” and “still clearly keeps his great mind sharp about US-China relations. Washington warns against a hostile relationship.”
