Henry A. Kissinger, the 100-year-old former secretary of state who pushed the United States to cooperate with China, made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet with China’s defense minister.
The unannounced visit by Mr. Kissinger, who more than 50 years ago helped establish diplomatic relations between the United States and China during the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, coincided with several visits to serve American officials in China.
On Tuesday, the day Kissinger met with Defense Minister Li Shangfu, President Biden’s climate change envoy, John Kerry, met with the Chinese Prime Minister and director of foreign policy. In recent weeks, the current Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinkenand treasurer, Janet Yellenhe also went to Beijing to try to establish US-China relations.
But while these officials have faced various cold spells or criticism from Chinese officials or the state media, showing the tension between the political parties, explanation of the Ministry of Defense the meeting with Mr. Kissinger was warm. The fact that Mr. Kissinger met with Mr. Li at all was interesting: China last month rejected a request for Mr. Li to meet with the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, at a meeting in Singapore. (China criticized the resistance to US sanctions on Mr. Li.)
Time Blinken’s visit last monthChinese officials have also rejected calls to reopen military-to-military lines of communication.
Meeting with Kissinger, Li said he hoped the United States would work with China to promote “good, stable development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries,” according to a defense ministry statement.
Mr. Li also criticized “some people in the United States” for “not meeting China in the middle,” saying that the atmosphere of friendly communication “has been destroyed.”
Mr. Kissinger, the Ministry of Defense said, “he is here as a friend of China,” and that the two countries “should end the conflict, live together in peace and avoid conflict.”
It is unclear how long Kissinger will stay in Beijing and whether he will meet with other officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi and Kissinger met in Beijing in 2019, with Xi telling Kissinger that he hoped he would “enjoy many healthy years to come and continue to strengthen and support Sino-US relations.” according to Xinhuaa news agency in China.
The Chinese press has long praised Kissinger, especially for preventing the brutality in Beijing that was followed by the American president’s administration recently.
In a issue in Mayon the anniversary of Mr. Kissinger’s birthday, the Global Times newspaper, which monitors the world’s political parties, said that Mr. Kissinger was “well-known,” and “remains focused on US-China relations by warning Washington” against war. enemy relations.