BEIJING: The United States needs “Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom” in its China policies, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told the former US state secretary in Beijing on Wednesday, as both countries struggle to repair relations.

Henry Kissinger served as US state secretary and national security advisor in the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and played a key diplomatic role in normalising ties between Washington and Beijing in the 1970s.

Washington said it was aware of the trip to China this week by Kissinger, who has visited China regularly since leaving office and is now aged 100, but said he was not acting on behalf of the US government.

Beijing’s top diplomat tells ex-secretary of state it’s ‘impossible to contain’ China; Washington says Kissinger not acting on

Wang, China’s foreign minister until late last year, referred to Kissinger as “an old friend” and commended the former US diplomat for playing “an irreplaceable role” in enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries.

Beijing’s top diplomat tells ex-secretary of state it’s ‘impossible to contain’ China; Washington says Kissinger not acting on behalf of govt

“US policies towards China require Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom and Nixon-style political courage,” China’s foreign ministry quoted Wang as saying during the meeting.

Kissinger was not the only former state secretary in Beijing hoping to stabilise bilateral ties this week. John Kerry, now a presidential envoy, has held talks in the Chinese capital since Monday on fighting climate change as part of a broader US effort to further restore dialogue between the two estranged nations.

Current US state secretary Antony Blinken was in Beijing last month.

‘As equals’

A range of issues have strained China-US ties, including China’s partnership with Russia, its territorial claim on democratically governed Taiwan, and US calls for trade curbs on cutting-edge technologies.

Wang told Kissinger it would be “impossible” to try to reform China, and “even more impossible” to encircle and contain it.

No matter how difficult it is, both sides should treat each other as equals and maintain contact, the foreign ministry cited Kissinger as saying. It is unacceptable to try to isolate the other side, Kissinger added.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2023