The normalization of Sino-US relations was a major stroke in his diplomatic career in his later years, and it had a far-reaching impact on the development of Sino-US relations and even the evolution of the entire world situation. As a personal experience and direct participant in this period of history, Kissinger has been received and exchanged in depth five times. ** Kissinger was extremely impressed and impressed by the strong charisma of the leader. Since visiting China as a special envoy in 1971, Kissinger has visited China nearly 100 times, making historic contributions to enhancing the friendship between China and the United States and the well-being of the people, and has been praised as "an old friend of the Chinese people" and "an evergreen tree of Sino-US diplomacy". Kissinger has written a lot, and his works such as "On China" and "The Years in the White House" vividly tell the story of China, and have become a "foreign eye" for a close observation of Chinese society and China.
with a unique leadership temperament and personal charisma".
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in the eyes of ordinary people in the West, the Communist Party of China and *** himself have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery. What is the real situation in China?What kind of personality and hobbies do you have?After being filtered through colored glasses, these issues were always foggy and unclear to the American people until the door to Sino-US exchanges was officially opened. With these doubts, Kissinger accompanied Nixon on a visit to China in 1972 and met him for the first time
To Kissinger's surprise, as the supreme leader of a world power, ** does not deliberately pursue material comforts and maintains a very simple life Xi. When he met with ***, he was deeply impressed by the simple and simple furnishings in the reception room. Books were placed on the shelves, on the tables, and on the floor, and in the corner of the room was a simple wooden bed, and the sofa was covered with a brown cloth cover. The furnishings of the room look "more like the retreat of a scholar than the reception room of the all-round leader of the world's most populous country."
In the face of guests from afar, ** overcame the difficulty of mobility caused by illness with strong willpower. In Kissinger's eyes, he has a unique leadership temperament and personal charisma", he is a tall man, with a smile on his face and sharp eyes, as if he can see through the weakness and hypocrisy of human nature at a glance. He immediately became the center of attention as soon as he appeared, and he did not need to rely on excessive pomp and circumstance to show his majesty, and his gestures exuded "almost a palpable overwhelming force".
What also impressed Kissinger was his unique way of talking. His conversations are completely detached from red tape, light-hearted and philosophical, often expressing their true meaning in "Socratic dialogues", interspersed with a few jokes to liven up the atmosphere, seemingly off-topic on the surface, but always focused on the central issue. On the whole, ** has a superb art of conversation, which is both whimsical, freewheeling and free, "pointing in a direction, but not prescribing the way forward".
Top strategists".
In modern times, China has always been in a situation of internal and external troubles and passive beatings, and it is difficult for China to speak for itself and defend its rights in international affairs. The new China under the leadership of ** completely reversed this situation. Kissinger said with great emotion: "Since the founding of New China, China has played a more powerful role on the world stage than its actual strength. ”
In Kissinger's view, he is deeply aware of Chinese traditions and uses them as experience in foreign policy, drawing inspiration from them and taking them to the extreme. He is good at singing "empty city plan", surprisingly winning, making opponents confused and behaving at a loss. He analyzes the balance of forces, grasps the balance of forces, and makes the hostile forces contain each other, and then uses the contradictions to break through each other. In the face of challenges, he dares to fight back, but when the situation is not in his favor, he will flexibly change his strategy. ** He is very skillful in borrowing traditional techniques in diplomacy, "bold in his intentions", and is a "top strategist".
** Never stick to rigid etiquette when dealing with specific foreign affairs, and be good at sending clear signals to the other party with symbolic gestures. On October 1, 1970, the American writer Edgar ** and his wife were invited to Tiananmen Square, and a group photo of several people was published in a prominent position on the front page of "The People". The United States did not fully understand the profound meaning of this approach at that time and missed the opportunity to engage with China. Later, Kissinger said with regret: "It was only after the incident that I finally understood that Mao wanted to use this as a symbol to show that he is now in personal control of relations with the United States."But it was a real vision at the time. We don't understand what he really means at a critical moment. ”
Until the last years of his life, ** remained highly concerned about the international situation and was ready to adjust his strategy at any time. During this period of time, he met with Kissinger four times. In February and November 1973, he met with Kissinger twice for long talks, elaborating on his conception of the "one line" diplomatic strategy. Kissinger recognized: "In terms of policy implementation, ** can be quite pragmatic;When it comes to policy ideas, he always tries to grasp the big principles. In October and December 1975, he had two last conversations with Kissinger, and despite his illness, he showed "incomparably strong willpower" and expressed "revolutionary conviction to fight against a complex set of strategic consciousness."
Persistent self-reliance".
In the process of many exchanges, Kissinger strongly felt the unremitting pursuit of an independent position and had a "persistent concept of self-reliance". In a meeting, Kissinger bluntly told Kissinger that in the face of foreign aggression, "no matter what other countries will do, China must resist foreign aggression even if its troops must withdraw to the interior to fight guerrilla warfare" and rely on the strength of the masses to completely annihilate the enemy.
In the process of gradually normalizing Sino-US relations, Kissinger feels that at every stage of cooperation and dialogue, China has always adhered to independence and self-determination to "safeguard China's freedom of action and national dignity," and "under no circumstances will China rely on the decisions of other countries." There is a striking example of this. Before his visit to China in November 1973, Kissinger proposed that a link could be opened between Beijing and Washington to reduce the risk of war. What he didn't expect was that this proposal touched a sensitive red line and triggered a violent reaction from him: "Someone wants to lend me an umbrella", "We don't want it, we don't want a nuclear umbrella". In the view of ***, the cooperation between China and the United States is absolutely equal, and there can be no cooperation without this position.
In the face of external nuclear threats, the answer is that China will rely on its own strength to prepare to resist to the end with "millet plus rifles". Perhaps due to the cultural differences between China and the West and the differences between China and the United States, Kissinger did not fully understand this idea at first, but as the exchanges deepened, he finally had to admit: "There are many examples in Chinese history of overcoming unimaginable deep sufferings of others, but in the end the invaders fell short with cultural advantages or vast territory." ”
to bring China into a new era".
In Kissinger's eyes, his great contribution lies in sweeping away the shackles from tradition and "bringing China into a new era", and he is "the first ruler to pursue the elimination of old forces and break the old traditions since China's reunification".
** Always adhere to the people's position and people's feelings, believe in the infinite strength hidden in the masses of the people, and believe that only by relying on the Chinese people can we win the victory of the cause. Kissinger believes that this concept has had a profound impact. Facts have proved that China's development achievements depend on "the perseverance and perseverance of the Chinese people, as well as their endurance and cohesion."
In addition, it has reshaped China's status as a great power and created a very favorable external environment for China's pursuit of modernization. ** He inherited a poor and backward country, but he relied on his superb political wisdom to sway Fang Xuan on the international stage, seize the opportunity in the dynamic evolution of different forces, and seek to maximize national interests. In the context of Cold War confrontation, he led China to overcome many difficulties and continue to move forward, "allowing China to participate in a series of intertwined geopolitical circles, but not bound by them".
In Kissinger's vision, ** is an eloquent and extremely wise historical giant, who "has worked hard all his life to completely change Chinese society". Under his leadership, China reversed the trend of prosperity to decline in modern times, restored its former status as a great power and its historical glory, and "gradually developed into an emerging power under the socialist system."
Author: Liu Dongqing).
*: Xi Times.