BEIJING, July 21 (TMTPost)— In a trip of a legendary U.S. politician to China, Beijing sent a message that better relationship brings only benefit to both of the world’s top two economies.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as an “old friend” during a meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the same building where Kissinger first met China’s then-Premier Zhou Enlai in 1971 to kick off establishment of relations with China, the state media Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi reviewed the historic normalization of China-U.S. relationship that Kissinger facilitated about half a century ago. He said heads of China and U.S. at that time as well as Kissinger made the right decision that delivered benefits to the two nations and changed the world. “We never forget our old friends, nor your historic contributions to promoting the growth of China-U.S. relations and enhancing friendship between the two peoples,” Xi paid tribute to Kissinger for his diplomatic efforts for a desirable U.S. relationship with China. Then he underlined it is another crossroad that requires another policymakers’ decision on where the two countries to go as the ongoing transformations in the world are once-in-a-century, and international landscape is going through major shifts.  

Looking forward, China and the United States can help each other succeed and prosper together if they insist on the key principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, Xi said. He then added China, on the basis of the principles, is willing to work with U.S. to find proper ways to get along with and push forward their relations steadily, which will bring benefits to both of them and the world. Xi said that he hopes Kissinger and other insightful Americans continue to play a constructive role in bringing China- U.S. relations back on the right track.

Kissinger told Xi that U.S.-China relations are critical to peace and prosperity of the two countries and the wider world. He highlighted the utmost importance of the one-China principle. Besides the key principle, he believes it is the time to follow the principles established by the Shanghai Communique and promote development of the two countries’ relationship in a positive direction. Kissinger vowed to continue his contribution to facilitating mutual understandings between Chinese and American peoples.

The U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday that Kissinger’s traveling to China was “under his own volition” and not acting on behalf of the U.S. government. But Kissenger, as a key figure of U.S. politics who still has a outsized stature across the Pacific Ocean, could act as a backchannel for negotiations between China and the United States.

Kissinger is the latest U.S. visitors that talked with Chinese senior officials recently. Four officials at the Biden administration travelled to China in about a month, but only Secretary of State Antony Blinken got a face-to-face meet with Chinese President.

Blinken is the highest ranking American official as well as the top US diplomat to visit China in almost five years. He is also the highest ranking official from the Biden cabinet to set foot in China since Biden took office in January 2021. In his meet with Blinken, President Xi stressed that major-country competition does not represent the trend of the times, still less can it solve America’s own problems or the challenges facing the world. He urged the U.S. government to adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction. He pointed out the international community is concerned about the Sino-U.S. relations and doesn’t want to see conflict or confrontation between these two powers. China always believes that the two major countries can overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, Xi said.