Henry Kissinger: China-US Relationship the Key Single Element for International Stability（在线收听）

One of the world's most famous living diplomats is now suggesting that the speed in which both China and the United States approach diplomacy is one of the things holding up stronger ties between the two countries.

From Washington, CRI correspondent Wang Shanshan has more.

 
Speaking to the Global China Summit organized by the Washington Post, Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says Washington and Beijing now understand each other better than they once did.

However, he says a difference in the broader mindset is still a challenge.

"The American approach is usually pragmatic, relatively short term, focuses on specific problems. The Chinese approach is strategic, global and long-term. So sometimes it's not easy to establish communication. "

Calling the bilateral relationship the "key single element of international stability," Kissinger says with no historical precedent, the two countries also have to deal with each other at a time when they face their own increasing domestic challenges.

"The real difficulty and the real challenge is to deal with two contrary fears. The Chinese are afraid or concerned with containment by the US. The American concern is not to commit one country to dominate all of Asia. If we have an adversary relationship, both of these nightmares are going to collide with each other. If we have a cooperative relationship, the nations of Asia do not have to choose between China and the US."

The Nobel Prize Laureate is calling on both countries to avoid potential conflicts in a bid not to confuse the world.

"China and the United States, we can not tell the rest of the world what they should do. But the rest of the world will find it hard if they are confronted with conflicts between China and the US. And we have to recognize that both China and the US have to make significant effort. It's not something either country can do by itself. "

This year is the 40th anniversary of Henry Kissinger's secret visit to China, which eventually paved the way for then-President Richard Nixon to travel to China to begin the process of normalizing ties between the two countries.

For CRI, this is Wang Shanshan in Washington.