American diplomat Henry Kissinger, who met with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on July 20 during a surprise private trip to Beijing, was instrumental in establishing relations between the Asian country and Washington under the Republican presidency Richard Nixon during the Cold War in the early 1970s. The controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner left a deep mark on the second half of the 20th century, particularly through his role in the foreign policy of the United States between 1969 and 1977.
Their efforts led to arms control talks between the United States and the Soviet Union, an expansion of relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords that led to the end of the war. Vietnam War and finally to the communist takeover two years later.
On the other hand, the man who pioneered the approach Moscow and Beijing in the seventies, His image was tarnished by dark pages of American history, such as his support of the coup in Chile in 1973 or the invasion of East Timor in 1975. In fact, he defended his sense of “realpolitik”, the cold calculation of national interests by those in power made him a strong one criticized figure. Some admired him as a great wise man, others loathed him and considered him a war criminal.
Kissinger’s importance as the chief architect of American foreign policy declined with the resignation of President Nixon in 1974. Nevertheless, he remained a diplomatic force under President Gerald Ford and continued to hold strong opinions until his death.
He remained admirably active beyond his 100th birthday in May, attending meetings at the White House, publishing a book on leadership, testifying before a Senate committee on the North Korean nuclear threat and even visiting beloved communist leaders in Beijing last summer.
China undoubtedly occupied a special place in his career. He played a key role in thawing US relations with Mao’s China and made secret trips to organize it Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972. This rapprochement with Chinese power ended the Asian giant’s isolation and contributed to Beijing’s rise to power, particularly economic power, on the world stage.
For this reason, after the announcement of his death, the Chinese President and senior officials of the country paid loving tribute to the figure of the veteran diplomat and sent heartfelt condolences to American President Joe Biden. His “old and great friend” visited the Asian country more than a hundred times and last met Xi during a surprise private trip to Beijing in July, so his death sparked widespread grief among ordinary citizens who flooded social networks with news. They remember him in particular as a man who knew how to effectively maintain Sino-American relations for the benefit of peace and prosperity for both sides. The Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Xie FengPublished in
Throughout history, Washington and Beijing have faced and overcome countless difficulties that have impacted their relations or become increasing sources of discord, such as the peaceful protesters killed in Tiananmen Square in 1989, or in recent years the oppression of Tibetans and Uyghur Muslims in the far west of China, but also the loss of freedom in Hong Kong, the military harassment of Taiwan or the controversy surrounding the alleged “Chinese spy balloons”. Kissinger worried about the severity of tensions to the end of his days. “I think military conflict is likely, so the current course of relations needs to change,” he told Bloomberg in June in one of his final interviews.