Kissinger calls for China, US roles in world order
- By Guo Yiming
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 2, 2015
Adversaries can become partners
Dr. Kissinger lauded Chinese President Xi Jinping's definition of the international challenge as creating a system in which potential adversaries can become partners.
"There are not so many such examples in history. Therefore, this generation has the unique task of bringing this about," said Dr. Kissinger.
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| Dr. Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State and an old friend of China, holds a dialogue with Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, at the CITIC International Forum in Beijing on Oct. 31, 2015. [Photo by Guo Yiming/China.org.cn] |
He called for the two world powers to enhance mutual understanding despite their different historical and cultural backgrounds as well as political systems.
In elaborating the two countries' differences, Dr. Kissinger said, "throughout most of history, America has never had a powerful neighbor" whereas "China has never been without powerful neighbors" and that "America has always felt secure from foreign invasions" while "China has rarely felt secure from foreign invasions."
In addition to historical differences, China and the United States also have different thinking patterns. Blessed with material resources which have enabled the country to deal with every problem and challenge they encounter, "the Americans tend to believe that every problem has a solution," and put tremendous efforts on short-term issues.
"But the Chinese know that no problem has a final solution and every solution may cause other problems," said Dr. Kissinger, as he explained that Chinese people tend to think in more conceptual terms.
Therefore, according to Dr. Kissinger, the two countries need to understand each other better in order to partner up in meeting global challenges such as climate change, cyber security and the threat of nuclear weapons.
Bridging the gap
Faced with so many differences, Dr. Kissinger said "it is not always so easy to bridge the gap."
However, he reiterated his agreement with President Xi's idea in terms of encouraging the dynamic "adversary to partner" relationship and quoted a former US president, saying, "the problem we face today is to apply general principles to certain concrete circumstances."
He urged that China and the United States should transform the diverse challenges the countries' face into common tasks in the process of building an inclusive world order to avoid the destruction of humanity's best hope at a sustainable future.
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