Editor's note: After the death of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, there have been many reminiscences and reviews of conversations and articles by people from all walks of life in China. The following is a summary of Fu Ying's recollections and comments on Kissinger's remarks and views for the benefit of readers.
On the evening of November 29, 2023, Beijing time, Mr. Wang Jisi of Peking University told me that the United States asked him to write an article about Dr. Kissinger, saying that the situation of the elderly is not very good. My heart sank, is such a dazzling star of diplomacy and international politics really about to fall? Early the next morning, the news came that Dr. Kissinger had passed away at the age of 100. As a witness and participant in a century of global turmoil, his departure is regrettable. Especially when mankind is facing a century of changes, and the physical and spiritual worlds are experiencing great impacts, how much we need the insight of the wise.
I didn't have much contact with Dr. Kissinger, and I was always impressed by his modest style. Dr. Kissinger was first met in the late '80s, when he often appeared at forums in Beijing. Once, when I was interpreting for a forum in Diaoyutai and I met him in the interim, I took out my small camera and asked if I could take a photo with him, and he smiled and agreed to take pictures with us young translators one by one. Then say, "Your work in this "small box of simultaneous interpretation" is very important. I met him again at work many years later and had some dealings, he always was, he didn't have any arrogance, he didn't refuse anyone's request, and he showed a style of putting himself very low.
In October 2015, Fu Ying had a dialogue with Kissinger (left) at the "World Order and China's Role in the World Order: 2015 Beijing International Forum". Figure provided by the interviewee.
Although Dr. Kissinger has long since moved away from the front line of diplomacy, he has always maintained an interest and interest in international problems. Most of my conversations with him were in international academic forums. He was very attentive to the forum, and he sat there listening from the beginning until the end, never seeing him skip the meeting. I like to chat with him in between and listen to him comment on topics on the forum. Whether it is a current hot issue or an event, he will zoom out and express his views and judgments from a more macro perspective. I have observed that Kissinger has a natural interest and willingness to solve international problems, is very sensitive to the problems that exist between countries, and is willing to listen to any side talk about its own ideas and reasoning, and then talk about possible solutions. I suspect that of all the problems in the world he studied, perhaps not all of them were solved in the way he wanted them to be, and that his solutions were not always adopted or had the best results. Seeing the mixed praise and criticism of him in the United States and even in the international community can make people understand why diplomacy is an "art full of regrets". However, this did not prevent Kissinger from spending his life thinking and exploring the problems of disputes between countries, and constantly trying to come up with solutions. I think that's a great quality of a diplomat.
"You're not going to be too me, are you? ”
The first time I shared the stage with Dr. Kissinger was in 2010 at a closed-door forum in Europe. When I arrived at the hotel, I saw that there was a discussion on the agenda on "China's Development and Policy", which was marked by Dr. Kissinger and I was the main speaker. For such a grand topic, I didn't think for a while that I should start with **. In the evening at the welcome dinner, I sat down next to Dr. Kissinger with a plate and asked him if he could ask him how to talk about tomorrow's forum. He looked at me with a smile and said, "You won't be too me, will you?" "I'm a little blindsided. In the years that followed, I shared the stage with him more than once, sometimes as a host. Every time he had to ask the same thing, "You won't be too me, will you?" I found that the meaning of his sentence is two-way, both the meaning of really hoping that the other party will not make things difficult for him, and the effect of making the other party relax and not be too nervous.
At that forum in Europe, Dr. Kissinger told me that people want to know about China, and any information is fresh, so I opened up. When I talked about China's judgment on the general trend of world peace and development, I used "trend" to express the "trend" in Chinese. Kissinger interrupted me and said, "Please let me explain it for you." He told the audience: "You may not understand the meaning of 'trend', which is a political concept unique to China, and the English word 'trend' does not fully express its meaning." He directly used 's-h-i' (potential)", saying: "The 'potential' that the Chinese speak of is like a torrent rushing from a high mountain, unstoppable." The responsibility of a politician is to judge the 'momentum' and then lead the people to follow the trend and achieve success. ”
In May 2017, Fu Ying (left) and Kissinger attended the core group meeting of the Munich Security Conference in Washington, D.C.
Personally, I admire Dr. Kissinger's childlike sensitivity and curiosity about any new thing, new idea, which is probably one of the motivations for him to keep learning Xi. Perhaps because he has seen so much, read a lot, said a lot, and written a lot, he knows that the world is inexhaustible, so he is always humble and curious about people and things. I met him many times in New York and Beijing, and he encouraged me and the rest of the team to put forward our own ideas during each conversation, and he asked us to give us an answer to every question we asked. When he listens to us, you can see the twinkle in his eyes, and when we part, he will say: You should tell people what the Chinese think about these important issues and why. His curiosity seems to have no end to it, and he continues to learn new things in his advanced age. He even gained an in-depth understanding of the high-tech knowledge of artificial intelligence, not to learn Xi technology, but to care about the future security of mankind. In his final book, "The Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Our Humanity," he called on the United States and China to work together to face the uncertainties brought about by technological developments and properly respond to possible dangers.
"Look at things from a philosophical point of view".
In his later years, Dr. Kissinger increasingly expressed concern about the direction of the world and concerns about the relationship between China and the United States, and the title of the last section of "World Order" was "Where Are We Going?" is a proposition he repeatedly makes. During the Obama period, he expressed the view that "the United States must coexist with China." In March 2012, he published an article in Foreign Affairs** in which he systematically responded to the question of whether the United States would enter a confrontation with China. The article argues that this is not a necessary option, but also warns of possible risks and proposes a way to deal with it. "Each side needs to explain its actions to the other in a persuasive way and as a normal part of international life, rather than allowing them to become a reason for sounding the alarm," he wrote. It is inevitable that both sides will do something that offends the other, but each side should distinguish the nature of the problem, judge and correct itself carefully, and avoid being perceived as intentional containment or suppression. It may be difficult for both the United States and China to transcend the traditional impulse of great power competition, but both countries need to work hard to do so for their own sake and for the sake of the world. There may not have been many people at the time who had seriously pondered the meaning of his words, but in hindsight, he was in the United States and had foreseen the storm.
In August 2018, Fu Ying (first from left) and her entourage visited Kissinger (third from right) when they visited New York. Figure provided by the interviewee.
By the time Dr. Kissinger visited Beijing in 2018, U.S.-China relations had been strained by the war instigated by Trump. I asked him at dinner: "What do you think of the two views on the current Sino-US relationship: one is that after 40 years of Sino-US relations, the relationship has had ups and downs, and after tossing and turning, it has always returned to the normal track, like a pendulum effect, and it will still be like this this time." The other is that a paradigm shift is taking place in Sino-US relations. Dr. Kissinger's answer was tactful, but the conclusion was clear: "Sino-US relations cannot return to the past." He talked about China's development and exchanges between the two countries over the past 40 years, and argued that because the balance of power has changed, the United States and China may need to explore a new paradigm of interaction at a new level.
In November 2018, Kissinger (center) visited Beijing. Figure Visual China.
Of course, it would be naïve to think that Dr. Kissinger's constant proposals for U.S. relations with China are motivated solely by good feelings and support for China, and any good diplomat, first and foremost, is a patriot. Kissinger's basic stand is to safeguard US interests, including maintaining the leading position of the United States in the world. As a master of geopolitics and strategic balance of power, he inevitably views Sino-US relations from the perspective of great power competition. In his November 2019 speech to the Committee on U.S.-China Relations, he said that "there is no doubt that many aspects of China's development pose a challenge to the United States." Kissinger's main focus is on how to avoid the US-China rivalry turning into great power confrontation or even war, and based on his deep understanding of the historical experience and lessons of international relations and his own experience, he can gain insight into the necessity and importance of accommodating the interests of major powers. In November of that year, Kissinger said in a discussion with students at Peking University: "One of the biggest challenges we face is whether the United States and China are in an adversary relationship." "If we are enemies of each other, the two countries will fight each other on a global scale, and other countries will need to make decisions based on this, and the whole world will be **," he said. He also summed up his rich experience: "Many international incidents are caused by misunderstandings about each other. In the years since, he has repeatedly called for improved relations between China and the United States, and has warned of the risk of confrontation between the two countries.
On October 24, 2023, Dr. Kissinger attended the annual dinner of the Council on U.S.-China Relations in New York, where he could be seen wearing bandages on his hands, which was supposed to be his last public speech. "I am convinced that the U.S.-China relationship depends on mutual understanding, and that these two countries have the unique ability to bring peace and progress to the world, but also to destroy the world," he said. He also said that his firm belief 50 years ago has not changed, and he believes that the two countries can find a way out of these difficulties.
Prior to this, in July 2023, Dr. Kissinger returned to China two months after his 100th birthday. **During the meeting, he stressed that China and the United States can achieve mutual success and common prosperity, and the key is to follow the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. On this basis, China is willing to work with the United States to get along with each other in a correct way and promote the steady progress of China-US relations. Kissinger said that under the current situation, we should abide by the principles laid down in the "Shanghai Communique," understand the extreme importance of the one-China principle to China, and promote the development of Sino-US relations in a positive direction.
This was Dr. Kissinger's last visit to China. He has visited China more than 100 times since his secret visit to China in 1971 opened the door to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. What prompted him to come to China again and again? I think it's because he understands China and is willing to constantly update his understanding of China. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, he has rarely visited China for a year, and sometimes he has come here several times a year, and has made many friends here, including high-level leaders and ordinary people. He would talk with the same humility and sincerity to some college students after meeting with senior leaders, talking about the same grand ideas that might only be understood and appreciated years later, when those students were more mature. He likes to put problems in the long river of history and observe and analyze them from a long-term perspective. In his words, it is to "look at things from a philosophical point of view".
Dr. Kissinger wrote many books throughout his life, including "On China," which led him to devote many years of his efforts to writing a single country. The book interprets China's ideology, culture and even philosophical concepts from a unique perspective, as well as the concepts and logic behind China's policies and major diplomatic events, providing a window for the world to know and understand China. He is probably one of the few people in the United States who is not very surprised and frightened by China's progress, because he has personally felt the pace of China's development and has followed and observed China along the way, which is one of the reasons why he is regarded as an old friend by the Chinese people.
Shortly after Dr. Kissinger's last visit to China, on November 15, 2023 local time, President ** held a meeting with Biden at Philori Manor in San Francisco, USA. Through this meeting, the top leaders of the two countries have deepened the correct way of getting along with China and the United States, further clarified the responsibilities of China and the United States as major countries, and formed the future-oriented "San Francisco Vision". Dr. Kissinger should be relieved to see that Sino-US relations have finally stabilized after a bumpy ride. However, many problems between China and the United States remain, and it will take time to build a new constructive relationship, and Dr. Kissinger has left behind a wealth of books, articles, and advice that are worth reading and pondering. According to what Chairman Kissinger said in his message of condolence to Biden on the death of Dr. Kissinger, "passing on the cause of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, promoting the healthy and stable development of China-US relations, benefiting the people of the two countries, and making due contributions to world peace and development" will be the best commemoration of Dr. Kissinger.
Issued in 202312.11. The 1120th issue of China News Weekly magazine.
Magazine title: Fu Ying: Kissinger leaves advice on how the United States can coexist with China.
Author: Fu Ying.