Ties at crossroads: Xi to Kissinger

Beijing, July 20

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday told 100-year-old Henry Kissinger that Beijing was ready to discuss the “correct way” to halt the slide of its relations with the US and sought the help of the veteran American diplomat to fix the ties as he did 50 years ago by establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State who turned 100 in May this year, remains the most influential figure in Beijing since his successful ping-pong diplomacy in 1971, pitting Communist China against its ideological mentor the then Soviet Union, tilting the Cold War balance of power at that time.

Kissinger’s current visit comes after trips by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this month besides US top climate envoy John Kerry’s tour to recalibrate the stalled relations.