China’s envoy to US Xie Feng congratulates Henry Kissinger on 100th birthday
- Xie travels to Connecticut just days after taking up new post in Washington
- The two men discuss issues of common concern, embassy says
In a brief statement, the Chinese embassy said Xie and Kissinger had an “in-depth exchange of views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern”.
Xie, China’s former vice foreign minister, made the trip to Kent, Connecticut, just three days after arriving in the United States to take up his post.
The embassy did not specify where the meeting took place, but Kissinger has an estate in the town of Kent.
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When ping-pong helped put China-US diplomacy on the table before Nixon’s visit 50 years ago
Kissinger, who turned 100 on Saturday, has long ties with China.
His backchannel diplomacy paved the way for the normalisation of ties between China and the United States in the 1970s, and the veteran statesman has maintained connections with Chinese leaders and senior officials over the decades since, regardless of strains in the bilateral relationship.
