Ji Chaozhu, Chinese diplomat who acted as bridge with US during historic thaw in relations, dies aged 91

Ji Chaozhu, the Chinese diplomat and interpreter who played a crucial role in Henry Kissinger’s secret meeting with premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, has died aged 91. The meeting paved the way for the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing, and Ji later described it as “the birth of modern relations between my native land, China, and the land where I spent so much of my childhood, America”. Ji, who had acted as an interpreter for top Chinese leaders including Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping since the 1950s, was described by The New York Times as “an indispensable man” in such delicate diplomatic situations. The Harvard-educated diplomat, who died on Wednesday, was involved in many of they key events in modern US-Chinese relations, especially during the normalisation process of the 1970s and 1980s. He served as an interpreter during Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking visit to China in 1972 and Deng’s maiden visit to the US in 1979. He later become ambassador to Britain and undersecretary-general of the United Nations. Diplomatic observers often spoke highly of Ji’s exemplary English language skills gained during his formative years in the US, his unusual ability to win the trust of leaders on both sides of the Pacific and his patience and devotion to Chinese diplomacy. “Unlike many interpreter-turned diplomats in China today, Ji was well-educated and well-groomed, and equally important, well-positioned to become a truly professional diplomat,” said Pang Zhongying, a visiting senior fellow at Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Ji was born into an elite family in northern province of Shanxi in 1929 and fled with his family to the US in 1937 during the Sino-Japanese War. He spent most of the next 12 years in New York, which he called “his other home”, learning perfect English and immersing himself in American culture. China’s top ballet company in shouting match with courts over royalty order for repertoire performed for Richard Nixon But his American life came to a sudden stop in 1950 when China entered the Korean war fighting against the US-led forces. The sophomore student studying chemistry at Harvard University decided to return to China dreaming of becoming a scientist developing nuclear bombs for his native country. The decision, according to Ji in his 2008 memoir tilted The Man on Mao’s Right, was influenced by his elder brother Ji Chaoding, a US-trained economist, an early member of the Communist Party and long-time associate of Zhou Enlai. Instead, he became a note taker for the Chinese delegation attending the armistice talks in Geneva at the end of the war in 1954 and then enrolled in the foreign ministry to become Zhou’s main interpreter for the next two decades. Are China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomats doing more harm than good? As an aide and protégé of Zhou, who “sometimes referred to me affectionately as his ‘foreign doll’,” Ji was privileged to witness many history-making moments, including the so-called ping-pong diplomacy of 1971, when contact between table tennis players helped start the thaw in relations between the Cold War adversaries. He was also present during Mao’s last official engagement – a meeting with Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in May 1976, months before his death. Ji also appeared in many historical photos, including a famous shot of Nixon shaking hands with Zhou on the tarmac at Beijing’s airport in 1972. According to Ji and declassified US intelligence, when Nixon met Zhou on February 22, 1972, in a departure from diplomatic protocols the US president did not bring his own interpreter but agreed instead to rely on Ji. The following year, was chosen by the premier to be one of the first Chinese representatives dispatched to a newly opened liaison office in Beijing. He later served as Deng’s special envoy during Ronald Reagan’s presidency – largely because he was trusted by both sides – and in 1982 became the number two at the US embassy in Washington. Although Ji claimed he “spent hundreds and maybe thousands of hours” in meetings and conversations with Zhou, he provided little fresh insights in his 2008 memoir into the strategic thinking behind China’s major decisions, the inner workings of the top leadership or the complicated relationship between Zhou and Mao – especially during the Cultural Revolution. The publication of his English-language memoir in the US was a rare move for a Chinese official, but the veteran China watcher Andrew Nathan noted: “As witness to a half-century of Chinese turmoil, at home and abroad, he says surprisingly little that is not already known. The revelation here is of how persistent the tell-nothing ethos of a totalitarian era can be.” Some observers believe Ji, who witnessed the many ups and downs in US-China relations, sets an example for some Chinese diplomats who have often criticised for being overtly strident and aggressive. “Ji lived a long life. It must have been painful for him to see the rapid deterioration of bilateral ties,” Pang said. “His vital and somewhat unique role in helping bridge cultural and political differences between China and the US and promoting understanding between the two peoples has underlined the importance of diplomats, especially in times of challenges and even crises.”