Before reading, please click a "follow", which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also can bring you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support!
In July 2023, Kissinger, an "old friend of the Chinese people", visited Beijing again, at this time Kissinger is more than 100 years old, and more than 50 years have passed since he single-handedly promoted the easing of Sino-US relations.
At the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kissinger vigorously facilitated Nixon's visit to China, and changed China's strategy to join forces with the United States to resist the Soviet Union, which brought a strong ally to the United States and solved the embarrassing situation of China's continued diplomatic isolation.
It was precisely because of Kissinger's strategic vision that the Soviet Union was finally defeated and collapsed during the Cold War.
From the perspective of a politician, Kissinger is undoubtedly very qualified, and Kissinger's visit to China was to pull China into the camp of the United States, so why did Kissinger, who is now over 100 years old, visit China thousands of miles away?
Kissinger's visit to China
When it comes to Kissinger's visit to China in 2023, we have to go back to that visit more than 50 years ago.
In 1971, the U.S. side began to have a willingness to engage with China, and through ping-pong diplomacy, Sino-U.S. relations between China and the United States began to improve, and the U.S. side also understood China's attitude.
At this time, China was still in a state of isolation, and if it wanted to make contact, it was necessary for the United States to take the initiative to send a senior official to visit China, but China and the United States did not establish diplomatic relations at that time, and they were even enemy countries, so the visit could not be made with great fanfare, and it had to be a secret visit.
In this way, on July 1, 1971, Kissinger pretended to have a stomach upset during a visit to Pakistan, and then went to rest in the villa of the Pakistani president.
Because of this, Kissinger got rid of all the reporters and then fled from the Pakistani president's villa and secretly flew to Beijing.
After Kissinger and the Chinese side came into contact, they also understood the general attitude of the Chinese side, and in this way, the two sides finalized the time for US President Nixon's official visit to China, and Sino-US relations began to break the ice.
In fact, at that time, the United States was in the midst of many internal and external troubles, and in the era when China had not yet joined the US camp to join the United States to resist the Soviet Union, the main theme of the US-Soviet struggle for hegemony was the Soviet Union attacking the United States and defending the United States.
At this time, the United States had just lost the battlefield in Vietnam, and the pressure of domestic public opinion was enormous, and it was facing a certain degree of economic crisis.
Moreover, in the Middle East, the United States is also uncomfortable, because the United States supports Israel, and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have directly stopped doing it, and cut off the oil to the United States in a fit of anger.
This is the life of the United States, which was already separated from Germany at that time, and the energy crisis has made the life of the United States even more difficult.
Moreover, if the United States does not buy it, the countries that still want to pull the West cannot buy it, and the Western countries are not happy to buy it.
The United States can supply a little bit of it anyway, but if you don't let Western countries buy it, don't you want them to freeze to death?
At this time, the Soviet Union happened to seize the opportunity and directly began to export oil to Western countries, making a lot of money and leaving the United States in a relatively isolated situation in the world.
The Soviet Union was making foreign exchange money on the side, while the United States was not having a good time.
Therefore, the United States is eager to seek a diplomatic breakthrough, at least to put some pressure on the Soviet Union on national defense, so that the United States will have time to plan and seize the market for oil trade.
If Nixon's visit to China goes well, the United States will be able to get China's support.
Once China can support the United States, it will not be a problem for South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, which is now in a quagmire.
China, a behemoth, was a huge constraint to the Soviet Union, and its deterrent power was far greater than that of all the previous US military bases in Asia.
Even if it is ten South Koreas, it is impossible to have such a great deterrent power as China against the Soviet Union, and it just so happens that China and the Soviet Union have broken up and a hot war has directly broken out, and it is impossible to turn back.
In the past, the United States vigorously supported Taiwan because of China's old enemies of the United States, and if the whole of Asia were in the same spirit, then the United States would have no more drama.
Therefore, it is necessary to support forces such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and bury a few mines around China and the Soviet Union.
But if China had defected, the situation would have been very different.
It was with this attitude in mind that US President Richard Nixon visited China and achieved great success.
Why, then, did Kissinger make such a big effort to facilitate a U.S. visit to China that year? In addition to the reasons for the situation, are there any personal reflections on Kissinger?
Kissinger's reflections
On July 9, 1971, Kissinger made a secret visit to China through Pakistan, and although it was due to the needs of the situation, Kissinger's interest in China was not unstrong.
The United States has a stereotype of socialist countries, so Kissinger was very nervous when he contacted Premier Zhou and others, for fear that he would have to kneel and kowtow or something.
But after meeting Premier Zhou, he admired the premier very much, and the premier's personable demeanor and gestured temperament showed that he was a very good diplomat.
The rest of the Chinese side was also polite, completely different from what Kissinger had expected when he arrived.
After the meeting, Premier Zhou also clinked glasses with Kissinger and drank Chinese liquor, and the Chinese side's hospitable, generous and courteous attitude also made Kissinger's impression soar.
Subsequently, the Chinese side clarified its attitude on Sino-US relations, that is, as long as the United States is willing to sit down and have a good talk, respect China's sovereignty, and pursue one China, then Sino-US relations will develop greatly.
The only premise is that the Taiwan issue must never be touched, and there can be no more support for Taiwan's arms and economy.
After hearing this, Kissinger said that he would fully convey the message to President Nixon and finalized the time for President Nixon's visit to China.
The following year, US President Richard Nixon visited China, China and the United States signed a joint communique, and Sino-US relations officially began the honeymoon period.
In the process of improving Sino-US relations, Kissinger and Nixon are undoubtedly the biggest contributors.
Kissinger is actually not a pro-China politician, and from the beginning to the end, Kissinger has actually been thinking about the interests of the United States.
At that time, joining forces with China against the Soviet Union was the best solution for the United States, and the United States could also use this to get out of the Vietnam War, vigorously restore the domestic economy, and continue to fight with the Soviet Union in Europe.
Compared with these interests, the Taiwan issue is not a problem at all.
Sure enough, after the ice in Sino-US relations broke, the United States first turned to Europe, reached a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, and signed an agreement.
Saudi Arabia began to increase oil production frantically, and the United States followed suit, which led to the Soviet Union's oil being directly unbought, and Europe returning to the arms of the old United States.
Compared with Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union's energy can be said to have no advantage, and the Saudi Arabia will be directly loaded and shipped away after mining, and the Soviet Union will be transported through pipelines, and the cost will not be able to pass the first hurdle, and from the perspective of reserves, the Soviet Union is completely unable to compare with Saudi Arabia.
Besides, at that time, the world was full of dollars, and it was also a good thing for Saudi Arabia to reconcile and continue to settle oil in dollars.
On the European side, the Soviet Union was stuck in the neck economically, and on the Asian side, the United States did not stop moving.
China has a large land and abundant production of various industrial raw materials, coupled with a dense population, cheap labor and cheap land, so it is the best choice for the United States to invest and build factories.
The United States has also begun to teach China "industrial standardization" and transfer some manufacturing to China, which has driven China's economy to a certain extent and has also enjoyed China's demographic dividend.
Therefore, this wave of operations by Kissinger and Nixon can be said to have won the game, directly helping the United States to withdraw from the Vietnam War and turn back to hold down the momentum of the Soviet Union's triumphant advance in Europe.
The economy of the Soviet Union, which had just begun to recover, suddenly began to decline again.
The economic foundation of the Soviet Union was completely inferior to that of the United States, but the level of industry was comparable, so it did not lag behind in the arms race.
However, in the arms race, the United States only needs to exert 20 percent of its strength, and the Soviet Union will almost have to parry it with all its might, and even its economic development will stagnate as a result.
Therefore, once the Soviet Union cannot break the economic situation, it is only a matter of time before it finally loses the Cold War.
At that time, when the whole United States was rejecting China and most politicians were suppressing China, it was indeed very remarkable to have such a unique vision.
Of course, Kissinger's unique political wisdom is not only reflected in his friendship with China in the past, even Kissinger, who is over 100 years old, is far more sober than the vast majority of American politicians.
Lose both sides or develop together
In July 2023, Kissinger, who is over 100 years old, visited China again and was warmly welcomed by the Chinese side.
Kissinger is still willing to make friends with the Chinese side, but at this time Kissinger is no longer a politician, and although his political influence is still there, he can no longer influence US decision-making.
Moreover, since China's accession to the WTO and its economic development has advanced by leaps and bounds, the United States has been looking for trouble with China.
Since the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996, the United States has completely ignored the agreement in the Sino-US joint communiqué of that year, and has begun to continue to support Taiwan's weapons, and has even "visited" Taiwan in an official capacity, which has made the Taiwan Strait region uneasy.
In fact, the small abacus of the United States is also very simple, that is, China is now bigger and stronger, and it has the ability to share the American cake.
The consistent development line of the United States is to shift outward when there are contradictions at home, and use the dollar and hegemony to harvest the whole world.
As a result, a powerful China suddenly emerged at this time, and opposed US hegemony and advocated global peace and development, so how could the United States be happy?
However, Lao Mei seems to have never forgotten the pain of the scar, and there is no memory of it.
Since the beginning of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, China and the United States have formed a mortal enmity, and the United States has suppressed it step by step, but China never seems to have been suppressed.
Starting from the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, when New China had just been founded, its national strength was weak, its equipment was backward, and even in the early days of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, the volunteers could not even eat serious food, and could only nibble on some frozen potatoes in their arms.
But even so, the United States still failed to realize its ambitions, annexed the Korean Peninsula, and was beaten by the volunteers, losing face all over the world.
Moreover, the domestic economy of the United States was also seriously affected by the Korean War, and Truman was even more sprayed by the American people because of the defeat in the Korean War.
During the Vietnam War, the United States did not believe in evil and intervened in the Vietnam War again, and the result is naturally needless to say.
During the Vietnam War, American GIs suffered no less than in the Korean War, when American supply lines were longer and the climate was harsher.
Moreover, behind Vietnam are China and the Soviet Union, two strong aids, and it is not difficult to understand how iron Sino-Vietnamese relations were back then.
"China's vast territory is Vietnam's most solid rear. The broad masses of the Chinese people are Vietnam's strongest support. ”
This time, the United States is fighting away again, and in addition to various reasons such as the climate, the combat effectiveness is not complete in the first place, and naturally it is impossible to please anything.
Therefore, in these direct and indirect confrontations between China and the United States, Lao and the United States were ultimately defeated.
It is not difficult to understand why Kissinger has never wanted to make China and the United States hostile, that is, because Kissinger knows that the United States cannot play China at all.
Kissinger once wrote in his book "On China" that China's decline over the past 200 years was only a short-term accident in the entire history of China.
And China will be revived after this, and there is no other possibility.
Kissinger has always been a China expert, and he naturally has the right to speak on China.
That's why he is still working tirelessly across the ocean to visit China today, and the subtext of his is actually to help today's US government find amends.
"Look at my old friend, today I am 100 years old, the US government is not sensible, I still have to come over and explain."
Because the trade war between China and the United States has never stopped, the United States is also doing everything to detain Meng Wanzhou and double the tax on new energy vehicles, and want to directly cut off China's trade.
However, it was the United States that advocated globalization before, and now the United States cannot play in the globalized free market, so it has begun to engage in hegemony and sanctions again.
In the past, it was the United States that said that China's market economy was not good, and it was the United States that said that China regulated the economy and restricted free trade.
And now globalization can't play with China, and it can only rely on its own hegemonic position to continue to play hooligan.
Therefore, the United States is now reluctant to develop peacefully because the melody of peaceful development will make the United States, which has always benefited from hegemony, out of its comfort zone.
From the perspective of national interests, the starting point of the United States is indeed correct, but from the perspective of the interests of all mankind and the whole world, the behavior of the United States is undoubtedly the enemy of the whole people.
Kissinger's long-term vision has long been aware of this, which is why he is trying his best to bridge the relationship between China and the United States, which has gradually drifted apart.
Now that Kissinger has passed away, Sino-US relations seem to have begun to deteriorate in the direction of old and dead contacts, and we have no way of knowing what tricks the United States will make in the future.
But now that China has stepped onto the world stage, it will definitely fight against all hegemony through the big proposition of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
If you like my articles, you can click "Follow" and receive the article push as soon as you become a fan. Finally, due to the rules of the platform, you will only be considered a fan if you interact with me.