China is sending condolences to the death of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the ‘diplomat of the century’, who passed away on the 29th (local time).
China’s state-run CCTV reported the news of former Secretary of State Kissinger’s death and said, “Former Secretary Kissinger is known as a ‘living fossil’ in the development of China-US relations and has visited China more than 100 times since 1971.”
CCTV said, “Kissinger, who secretly visited China in 1971 as President Nixon’s special envoy and national security adviser, initiated the normalization of Sino-American relations,” adding, “Former Secretary Kissinger is ‘the Chinese people’s old friend.’” “I said I was proud of being evaluated as such,” he said.
Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng also said on his SNS account that day, “I cannot help but be shocked and saddened by the news of (Kissinger’s death),” and added, “History will remember this 100-year-old man who contributed to China-U.S. relations.”
Ambassador Xie added, “Kissinger is our most precious and long-time friend, and he will forever live in the hearts of the Chinese people.”
Many Chinese media outlets are also rushing to emphasize former Secretary of State Kissinger’s contributions to U.S.-China relations. Jimu Newspaper reported, “Kissinger once said, ‘China is part of my life’ during his lifetime,” and Cai Jingmang said, “Kissinger once said, ‘I am fortunate to be able to see the China-US cooperative relationship.’”
Local media reported that he stayed in Beijing for 48 hours in 1971 and held six meetings for 17 hours with then-Premier Zhou Enlai, and in February 1972, the following year, after then-President Nixon’s visit to China, he released a document containing the normalization of Sino-US relations. The ‘Shanghai Communiqué’ was announced, and it was reported that the United States and China officially established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979.
The fact that former Secretary of State Kissinger visited China last June, ahead of his 100th birthday, is also being reexamined. At the time, former Secretary Kissinger held a series of meetings with President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and said, “World peace and stability and human welfare depend on whether the two countries maintain a stable relationship.”
(Beijing = News 1)
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.