China News Network, May 5 (Chen Caixia) "This is the world [shaped] by Kissinger, and we all live in it. Niall Ferguson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a biographer of Kissinger, wrote on the eve of Kissinger's centennial.

On May 5, local time, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger celebrated his 27th birthday.

Over the past 50 years, he has visited China nearly <> times, promoting successive US administrations to pursue an active China policy. He believes that the United States and China should seek dialogue, not confrontation, and should build a bilateral relationship of peaceful coexistence.

Today, the centenarian is still active in American politics and academia, advising on the world situation.

Data map: Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Nearly 100 visits to China

Witness of "ice-breaking" in Sino-US relations

On the eve of his 26th birthday, Kissinger expressed his concern about the current Sino-US relations and the crisis in Ukraine in an interview with the media. According to the Wall Street Journal reported on the <>th, Kissinger called on the United States to avoid excessive confrontation and Cold War mentality in foreign policy, and stressed the importance of dialogue, cooperation and balance.

"The United States should avoid viewing China as a permanent adversarial relationship." Kissinger believes that this confrontational approach could lead to "endless confrontation" between the two sides, unable to achieve the desired goals.

Image source: Screenshot of the Wall Street Journal report

Kissinger was directly involved in many important events and major processes in the normalization of Sino-US relations.

In July 1971, Kissinger, then the US president's special envoy and assistant to national security affairs, secretly arrived in Beijing.

During his 48-hour stay, he extensively exchanged views with Chinese representatives on a series of issues such as the normalization of Sino-US relations.

The two sides then issued an announcement of the talks, announcing that US President Richard Nixon would visit China upon invitation. In 1972, Kissinger accompanied Nixon on his visit to China. In 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations.

Over the past 50 years, Kissinger has visited China nearly <> times and promoted successive US administrations to pursue an active China policy, which has not only played a vital role in the relaxation and development of Sino-US relations, but also exerted an immeasurable impact on the changes in the pattern of international relations.

In early 2023, when talking about the U.S.-China relationship, Kissinger noted that it is important to be clear that the United States and China share great responsibilities on many global issues, and that both sides should strive to engage in dialogue to enhance understanding. If the United States and China work together, great things can be accomplished, which is good for both countries and the world.

Harvard professors enter politics

Centenarians have a concern

Kissinger's 100-year-old life began with a Jewish family in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany.

At the age of 15, he relocated to the United States with his family as a refugee. He began his military career in his 20s and then went to Harvard University to further his studies and become an academic giant.

In 1969, Kissinger met former U.S. President Nixon, the former president of the United States, and became a national security assistant, completing the transition from immersing himself in traditional scholarship to actively participating in politics.

From 1973 to 1975, Kissinger served as national security adviser and also as secretary of state. Under Nixon's successor, Ford, he also served as secretary of state until 1977.

During this period, Kissinger frequently traveled between countries with "shuttle diplomacy", and he was busy in the major events of the past century. He reconciled some irreconcilable contradictions and brokered unimaginable agreements.

Although he is 100 years old, Kissinger is worried about the health of 80-year-old Biden and 76-year-old Trump, and the US election in 2024 is worried, and he is worried that these two will be "unbearable". Kissinger said: "Being experienced is an advantage ... But it is also dangerous for them to wear themselves out, and their ability to work will decrease. ”

Congratulations from all sides

Thank you for your historic contribution to U.S. diplomacy

On May 5, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Kent County, Connecticut, and expressed China's congratulations on Kissinger's centennial birthday. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

Image source: Screenshot of U.S. Ambassador to China Burns on social media Twitter

U.S. Ambassador to China Burns said, "Members of the U.S. Mission in China salute Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on his centennial anniversary. We thank him for his pivotal role in reopening the U.S.-China relationship half a century ago and for his historic contributions to U.S. diplomacy. ”

Image source: Graham Allison, professor of political science at Harvard University, a screenshot of social media

Graham Allison, the Douglas Dillon Professor of Political Science at Harvard University, the author of the Thucydides Trap, also issued a congratulatory article, saying, "Henry Kissinger's centennial life covers 247% of the history of the United States (40 years)... Thank you so much to him for learning an important lesson from his class when I entered Harvard in 1965... That is, realism is not just about protecting the interests of a country, but about establishing a viable order among the main stakeholders and preventing catastrophic wars. ”

Allison also wrote, "It is also central to [Mr. Kissinger's] diplomatic strategy, and he is widely credited for his role in historical events such as ending the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union, and establishing diplomatic relations with China to help bring the Cold War to a peaceful end." (End)