Zhang Wannian visited the United States, and the commander of the US Army warmly embraced: I finally met you!
The relationship between China and the United States has been fraught with complexity and variability since ancient times. There have been fierce conflicts and peaceful blending, but no matter how the relationship changes, the interaction between China and the United States has had a profound impact on the world situation.
In particular, on January 1, 1979, Comrade ** personally presided over the negotiations, and China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations, ending the 30-year hostile state, and the exchanges between the two countries have become more frequent and closer since then.
In 1998, after the exchange of visits between the leaders of China and the United States, Zhang Wannian, vice chairman of China's leading military commission, led a high-level military delegation to pay a state visit to the United States at the invitation of US Secretary of Defense Cohen.
This visit has had a profound impact on Sino-US relations, and an incident occurred during which people cannot laugh or cry. Among the U.S. military team responsible for receiving the Chinese delegation at that time was an Army Commander named Shali.
When he saw Zhang Wannian in the crowd, he suddenly laughed, quickly stepped forward, hugged Zhang Wannian, and said, "I finally caught you." His actions surprised everyone present.
Behind the strange behavior of the US commander, is there a secret entanglement between him and Zhang Wannian? The relationship between China and the United States is complex. Zhang Wannian, as an outstanding Communist Party member, outstanding proletarian revolutionary, military strategist, and outstanding leader of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, joined the Communist Party of China as early as 1945.
In the War of Liberation, he fought bravely and made great achievements. His actual combat experience and knowledge of military theory have been systematically improved at the Nanjing Military Academy, which has made him enjoy extremely high prestige in the army.
At the end of the 60s of the last century, Zhang Wannian served as deputy director of the Operations Department of the Guangzhou Military Region, and at that time he received an order to participate in the study of an inspection group to Xishan in Vietnam. During his stay in Vietnam, he led a group of members of the division's party committee to carry forward the fine traditions of our army, consolidate the fighting mentality, and enhance military training and the all-round building of the troops.
It was during this process that Zhang Wannian met Shali, who was just a scout at the time.
While the histories of China and the United States are full of twists and turns, international relations are not static. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the two countries have clashed tense battles during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and near the Taiwan Strait.
However, this is not the whole story of U.S.-China relations.
With the advent of the 60s, the rift between China and the Soviet Union gradually deepened, and the position of the United States in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union became more and more weak. In order to improve Sino-US relations, the two sides began to work together to find a solution.
Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War in full swing, in 1966, China sent a message to the United States ** that if the United States did not invade China and did not bomb the banks of the Hong River, China would no longer be directly involved in the Vietnam War.
Hearing China's position, the United States** expressed acceptance.
Johnson** publicly emphasized his desire for rapprochement with China, and his attitude was echoed by Nixon on February 1, 1969, and Nixon, just 12 days after he was sworn in, sent a friendly signal to China and tried to engage with Chinese officials.
Under the influence of these positive signals, the Chinese leadership quickly made a major strategic decision with the intention of establishing a strategic partnership with the United States to jointly counter the threat from the Soviet Union.
In 1971, he personally approved the invitation of the U.S. table tennis delegation to visit China, which is the famous table tennis diplomacy of "small ball turning big ball" in history.
With the joint efforts of China and the United States, Nixon made a successful visit to China and made great contributions to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
The relationship between China and the United States, as the world's largest developing country and developed country, has always been crucial. Kissinger once said: "Sino-US relations are not about which side helps which side, but is beneficial to both sides." ”
This sentence is a good interpretation of the core idea of China-US relations. Although successive U.S. leaders have had ups and downs in their attitudes toward China, over time, they have all realized the necessity of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
In 1998, the leaders of China and the United States exchanged visits, and General Zhang Wannian led a high-level Chinese military delegation to pay an official goodwill visit to the United States. At this time, China won a decisive victory in the fight against floods and rescue efforts, and Clinton was facing a crisis of confidence.
However, the United States has shown great importance to China's visit, and has made meticulous arrangements for the specific date and content of the visit to the safety and security of its entourage, and has given the Chinese delegation extremely high standards and courtesy, especially when receiving General Zhang Wannian, they have shown the greatest respect and welcome.
On September 15, 1998, Cohen held a ceremony on the lawn in front of the Pentagon, and 19 cannons were fired, adding a lot of color to Zhang Wannian's visit. Zhang Wannian, who accompanied Cohen, inspected the honor guards of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and National Guard.
After watching the might of the US ** team, Zhang Wannian and Cohen entered the Pentagon and had two rounds of talks. In the first round of the talks, the two sides conducted in-depth discussions on Sino-US bilateral relations, the Taiwan issue, and cooperation on terrorism and counterterrorism.
During the second round of talks, the two sides mainly discussed the international and regional situation and the development of the two countries and the two militaries. General Zhang Wannian showed great concern for the Taiwan issue and stressed to the United States on many occasions that properly handling the Taiwan issue has a crucial impact on the stable development of Sino-US relations.
The Chinese side calls on the United States to prudently handle the Taiwan issue and expects the United States to view and handle the relations between China and the United States and the two militaries from a long-term strategic perspective.
While discussing the Taiwan issue, Zhang Wannian pointed out that it is inappropriate and lacks sincerity for the Taiwan authorities to adopt an evasive and ambiguous attitude. He said that there is only one basic principle for resolving the Taiwan issue, and that is peaceful reunification.
1. One country, two systems.
He stressed that we do not want to start a war and do not want to use force against our compatriots, but we will not give up the right to use force, and this is also for the sake of peace.
China has always adhered to the concept of peaceful development, and we respect the sovereignty of all countries, whether they are developed or developing. We are willing to settle disputes by peaceful means and promote global prosperity and development.
Our goal is to protect our own prosperity and that of our nation, not to threaten other countries. What we want to stress is that we pursue a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and we do not engage in hegemonism and military expansion, do not establish military blocs, do not carry out military expansion, and do not station troops in foreign countries.
Even if we develop, we will not dominate because it is not in line with our principles and values. We hope to coexist peacefully with all countries in the world and jointly promote global prosperity and development.
Cohen has criticized those who spread the China threat theory, arguing that their statements are actually creating excuses to threaten others. Cohen said that the candid exchanges between China and the United States on global issues are of far-reaching significance to both countries and the whole world.
He stressed that China and the United States are friends and partners, and the two countries should establish stable relations and jointly promote global development. Cohen hopes that in the future, China and the United States can dispel doubts about each other and face the future together.
In this meeting, although Zhang Wannian and Cohen had differences on some issues, in the end we succeeded in seeking common ground while reserving differences. After the talks, the two sides signed a joint statement on military and environmental protection issues.
In interviews, they expressed their views on the talks. Zhang Wannian said that the year 1998 was of special significance to China, as it was the year when China suffered a catastrophic flood that had not been seen in a century, bringing huge losses to the people.
However, we have already won a decisive victory in the fight against floods and disaster relief.
Zhang Wannian said that the reason why we were able to achieve victory is inseparable from the strong leadership of the whole people and the unity and struggle of the whole people. In the process of fighting disasters, the subjective initiative of the people has been brought into full play, and at the same time, it has also reflected the important role of the material foundation and water conservancy construction laid by us in the past 20 years of reform and opening up.
Practice has proved that the People's Republic of China has a strong cohesive force and is invincible. After the press conference, he was invited to meet with Assistant Berger at the White House on the afternoon of September 15.
While Berger was talking with Zhang Wannian, Clinton arrived at Berger's office ahead of schedule and had a cordial meeting with Zhang Wannian. Clinton's move not only shows the great importance he attaches to Zhang Wannian, but also shows the great importance he attaches to China.
After the meeting, Clinton first expressed a warm welcome from the United States, and then expressed deep sympathy for China's recent floods, saying: "The friendship between the two countries is very important, and he is very willing to enhance exchanges and understanding between Americans and the Chinese."
In order to improve Sino-US relations, Zhang Wannian proposed strengthening understanding between the two sides. During his visit to the United States, he was inspected by teachers and students at West Point and visited the Air Force Combat School.
After Zhang Wannian entered the West Point Military Academy, he was warmly welcomed by all the teachers and students, and the principal excitedly shook his hand and expressed his expectations for him: "I know that you are a person who loves soldiers like children, and West Point Military Academy is known for its strictness, but it pays more attention to loving soldiers.
It is expected that we can cultivate high-quality, new-type military personnel across the century, who need to be tempered in challenges, not in greenhouses. Zhang Wannian responded with a smile: "You have won the award, you really need love soldiers on the battlefield."
If you don't love soldiers, you can't lead good soldiers, and the army will have no combat effectiveness. We are committed to cultivating such military talent. ”
Zhang Wannian once arrived at the U.S. Army Base at Fort Benning with the Americans. When entering the base, the commander of the US Army, Shali, hugged Zhang Wannian tightly and said with a smile: "I finally caught you, I was still a scout on the battlefield in Vietnam, I couldn't catch you at that time, and now I finally catch you." ”
Zhang Wannian reacted immediately, remembering that when he went to South Vietnam in 1968 to inspect the Battle of Khe Son, he did encounter Shali, and the scene at that time was still clearly visible, and so many years had passed unconsciously.
1.Zhang Wannian and Shali agreed that the Chinese Army and the U.S. Army are excellent troops, and hope that the two countries will avoid fighting each other in the future. Zhang Wannian is well aware of the importance of the people's hearts and minds, and the failure of the US military in the Korean and Vietnam wars was due to their forced war.
If the U.S. military fails to realize this problem, it will inevitably suffer defeat in the future. During his visit to the United States, Zhang Wannian always remained vigilant and cautious, studied and drew on the experience of the US military in a targeted manner, and made great contributions to improving the quality of the army after returning to China.
2.Both Zhang Wannian and Shali recognized the strength of the Chinese and U.S. armies and hoped that the two countries would avoid fighting in the future. Zhang Wannian was convinced that the influence of people's hearts and minds on a country was that the US military failed on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam because they deliberately provoked war.
If the US military does not recognize this problem, it will certainly lose future wars. As the saying goes, "stones from other mountains can attack jade." During his visit to the United States, Zhang Wannian always remained vigilant and cautious, drew on and drew on the experience of the US military in a targeted manner, and made great contributions to improving the quality of the military after returning to China.
After returning to China from his visit, General Zhang Wannian gave a report and analysis on his visit to the United States. He said that his current visit to the United States has made him deeply feel the degree of modernization of the US military, and China really needs to learn from the advanced experience of the US military in light of the actual situation.
However, in the process of studying, we must remain sober, and we must not blindly worship and copy and copy, only in this way can we explore a path suitable for China's development.
The international situation is changing rapidly, and China-US relations are constantly changing, but we must always adhere to the principle of not depending, not exclusive, and not blindly subordinate, take the development of our own national strength as the core, and skillfully respond to all challenges and difficulties.