Henry A. Kissinger, the esteemed 100-year-old former secretary of state known for advocating a more conciliatory approach to China, made a surprising visit to Beijing. During his visit, he had a meeting with China’s defense minister. This unexpected trip by Mr. Kissinger, who played a vital role in establishing diplomatic ties between the United States and China over 50 years ago during President Richard M. Nixon’s administration, coincided with a series of visits by current American officials to China.
On the same day that Mr. Kissinger met with Li Shangfu, the defense minister, John Kerry, President Biden’s climate change envoy, met with the Chinese premier and top foreign policy official. Additionally, Antony J. Blinken, the current secretary of state, and Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, recently traveled to Beijing in an effort to stabilize U.S.-China relations.
While these visits resulted in varying degrees of frostiness or reprimand from Chinese officials or state media, the description of Mr. Kissinger’s meeting with Li from the defense ministry was notably warmer. The fact that Mr. Kissinger was granted a meeting with Mr. Li is significant, as China previously declined a request for Mr. Li to meet with the U.S. defense minister, Lloyd Austin, at a summit in Singapore. (China attributed the refusal to U.S. sanctions against Mr. Li.)
During Mr. Blinken’s visit last month, Chinese officials again rebuffed a request to reopen direct channels of military communication. In his meeting with Mr. Kissinger, Mr. Li expressed hope that the United States would collaborate with China to foster a healthy and stable relationship between the two countries and their militaries, according to the defense ministry’s statement. He also criticized “some people in the United States” for not reciprocating China’s efforts and emphasized that the atmosphere for friendly communication had been damaged.
The defense ministry stated that Mr. Kissinger referred to himself as a “friend of China” and emphasized the need for mutual understanding, peaceful coexistence, and avoidance of confrontation between the two nations. The duration of Mr. Kissinger’s stay in Beijing and whether he will meet with other officials, including China’s leader, Xi Jinping, remains uncertain. In 2019, Mr. Xi and Mr. Kissinger met in Beijing, during which Mr. Xi expressed his desire for Mr. Kissinger’s continued promotion and contribution to Sino-U.S. relations, as reported by Xinhua, China’s state news agency.
Chinese state media has long praised Mr. Kissinger, particularly as a counterbalance to the more aggressive approaches toward Beijing adopted by recent American presidential administrations. In an article published by the Global Times, a nationalistic party-run tabloid, on Mr. Kissinger’s 100th birthday in May, he was described as “legendary” and as someone who still possesses a sharp mind when it comes to U.S.-China relations, explicitly warning Washington against an adversarial relationship.
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