‘A Friend of Ours Forever’: Chinese Communists Celebrate Henry Kissinger

Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and regime-approved commenters on the tightly controlled Chinese internet praised the late Henry Kissinger on Thursday as an “old friend” and “trail-blazer” in American politics.

Kissinger, a former secretary of state and the architect of a form of diplomacy that granted Mao Zedong’s China access to the civilized world despite its rampant human rights atrocities, died on Wednesday at the age of 100. His last major public engagement was a visit to China in July, where he met with Xi personally and received a lavish welcome banquet.

Throughout the year, Kissinger expressed dismay at policies in the United States meant to combat China’s rampant human rights abuses, its intellectual property theft, espionage, colonization of maritime territory in the South China Sea, and other international crimes.

The Chinese state news outlet Xinhua reported on Thursday that Xi sent a letter to current American President Joe Biden expressing condolences for Kissinger’s loss.

“In his message, Xi said Kissinger was a world-renowned strategist and an old friend and good friend of the Chinese people,” Xinhua reported. “Half a century ago, with an outstanding strategic vision, Kissinger made historic contributions to the normalization of China-U.S. relations, which has not only benefited the two countries, but also changed the world, Xi said.”

Xi added that Kissinger would “always be remembered and missed by the Chinese people” and that Xi was “ready to work with the United States to carry forward the cause of friendly” that Kissinger represented.

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry, spokesman Wang Wenbin echoed the mourning and respect for Kissinger reflected in Xi’s letter.

“Dr. Henry Kissinger was a dear old friend of the Chinese people and a trail-blazer and contributor to China-US relations,” Wang told reporters, according to the English-language transcript of Thursday’s regular briefing. “Dr. Kissinger, who has long been showing care and support for the growth of China-US relations, visited China more than 100 times and has made historical contribution to the normalization of China-US relations. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by the people of China for his personal commitment and extraordinary contribution to China-US relations.”

Wang added that “both sides in China and the US need to carry forward Dr. Kissinger’s strategic vision, political courage and diplomatic wisdom.”

Coverage in the Global Times, China’s most prominent English-language state propaganda newspaper, also hailed Kissinger as a legendary figure in aiding communist China’s rise to become one of the world’s most powerful states. The Times also quoted Xi as celebrating the “extraordinary strategic vision” of Kissinger, former President Richard Nixon, mass murderer Mao Zedong, and his premier Zhou Enlai in holding meetings in the 1970s that would result in Washington choosing ties with the Communist Party over recognizing the sovereignty of the friendly nation of Taiwan. The four “made the right decision,” Xi said.

The Global Times also cited regime-approved alleged “experts” who said that Kissinger “spent half of his lifetime interacting with China, representing the highest level of diplomatic wisdom in the US, which should be highly valued.”
The state outlet also noted that on Weibo and other Chinese social media outlets – where only opinions approved by the Communist Party are allowed, and censors rapidly erase any signs of dissent – users were mourning the loss of the 100-year-old.

“Rest in peace, you were a friend of ours forever,” one such social media comment read.

Kissinger most recently visited China in July, receiving a warm welcome from Xi.

In addition to talks with Xi, “China also prepared a banquet for Kissinger with cuisine and decorations filled with cultural significance.”

“Dishes included a longevity peach cake, crane and pine ornamentation that traditionally symbolizes a long and healthy life for the elderly, as well as decorations of lush mountains and rivers, representing the enduring friendship and conveying hopes for peace and prosperity between China and the US,” the Global Times reported at the time.

Kissinger was not holding any public office in America at the time and made the visit as a private citizen. Nonetheless, state media observed that “as a private citizen, he was given the grandest reception at the official level.”

Kissinger’s meeting followed a tense winter between Beijing and Washington, as American officials identified a Chinese espionage aircraft – a spy balloon – flying over sensitive U.S. military sites over the continental states.

The balloon reportedly entered American airspace in Alaska in January, but the Biden administration let it float across the continent and only shot it down after reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

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Chinese Communist Party officials insisted that the spy balloon was a weather surveillance vessel that accidentally made its way to America, and angrily cut off communication with American diplomats in response to the balloon ultimately being shot down. Communications had not been restored when Kissinger made his visit.

Biden welcomed Xi Jinping to San Francisco, California, in November for a four-hour meeting that resulted in the restoration of military communications and a promise from the Chinese government to reconsider sending pandas to the United States.

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