https://www.scmp.com/rss/517271/feed Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left an indelible mark on US foreign policy, died on November 30, 2023, at age 100. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao As US President Donald Trump prepares for his first China trip in nearly a decade, Chinese scholars see an opportunity to steer ties away from confrontation and towards a managed coexistence. Speakers at a seminar hosted by the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World last week were cautiously optimistic about prospects for the relationship. That was despite Washington’s strategic pullback, heightened sensitivities over the Taiwan Strait, and intensifying conflict in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346061/love-and-hate-nationalism-can-xi-and-trump-rebalance-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346061/love-and-hate-nationalism-can-xi-and-trump-rebalance-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:00:08 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng Beijing has built military capacity and strengthened political resolve but needs to project a more credible deterrence as it steps up unification with Taiwan over the next five years, according to a mainland Chinese policy adviser. Li Yihu, dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Peking University, said the reunification process would enter an “accelerated phase” in the next five years and the mainland needed to do more to communicate an understanding of what he said was the inevitability of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345400/whats-one-big-thing-missing-beijings-taiwan-deterrence-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345400/whats-one-big-thing-missing-beijings-taiwan-deterrence-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:00:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States, which on Saturday attacked Venezuela and is said to have abducted its president, has a long history of military interventions and support for dictatorships in Latin America. On multiple occasions the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro – who Donald Trump says is now in US hands – accused Washington of backing coup attempts. Here are the main US interventions in Latin America since the Cold War. 1954: Guatemala On June 27, 1954, colonel Jacobo... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338634/us-interventions-latin-america-history-coups-and-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338634/us-interventions-latin-america-history-coups-and-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 15:16:04 +0000 Kamal Ahmad Kamal Ahmad Things had to change in Bangladesh. The brutality of an autocratic regime which tolerated little dissent gravely undermined its legitimacy. Its relentless kleptocracy exposed a capacity for private greed and theft that had no limits, turning it into a criminal state. The surrender of a proud nation’s sovereignty to a giant neighbour for its guarantee of an illicit political status quo ultimately proved untenable. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was the right man at the right hour to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3338565/bangladesh-needs-structural-change-how-will-it-get-there?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3338565/bangladesh-needs-structural-change-how-will-it-get-there?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 08:00:20 +0000 Xiang Bing Xiang Bing Beneath the “China threat” thesis, often heard in Western policy circles, is the assumption that China will become expansionist as it grows more powerful. But history gives us little reason to treat that as inevitable. At moments of peak strength, China has not consistently converted power into the kind of overseas colonialism, expansionism or conquest that marked the ascent of Western great powers. There are three often-cited reasons to suggest China’s rise might lead to expansionism. First,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338323/history-makes-clear-powerful-china-not-expansionist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338323/history-makes-clear-powerful-china-not-expansionist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese nuclear experts believe Japan could build nukes in less than 3 years The late US statesman Henry Kissinger’s dire warning about Tokyo aiming to become a nuclear power by 2028 is being re-examined by Beijing. 2. A year after near total blackout, China builds world’s largest smart... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3337970/japan-nuclear-power-chinas-first-female-c919-captain-5-weekend-reads-you-missed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3337970/japan-nuclear-power-chinas-first-female-c919-captain-5-weekend-reads-you-missed?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 04:57:55 +0000 Zhang Tong Zhang Tong One of Henry Kissinger’s final and most sobering predictions before his death was that Japan would eventually pursue nuclear weapons. In a 2023 interview with The Economist, Kissinger warned that Japan was “heading towards becoming a nuclear power in five years”. Chinese nuclear experts estimate that Japan has the political motivation but also the technical capacity to develop nuclear weapons in less than three years, echoing Kissinger’s warning that Japan harbours ambitions to revive its... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337876/chinese-nuclear-experts-believe-japan-could-build-nuclear-weapons-less-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337876/chinese-nuclear-experts-believe-japan-could-build-nuclear-weapons-less-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma George Yeo is a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He started his career in the military before entering politics in 1988. During his 23 years with the Singaporean government, Yeo held ministerial portfolios ranging from arts to health, trade and – for seven years – foreign affairs. After he left politics, Yeo was vice-chairman of Kerry Group in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2021 and chairman and executive director of its logistics arm from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337074/george-yeo-superpower-headaches-and-why-us-dollar-could-crack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337074/george-yeo-superpower-headaches-and-why-us-dollar-could-crack?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 22:00:17 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma George Yeo was Singapore’s foreign minister for seven years, ending in 2011, after earlier holding ministerial portfolios related to technology, health and trade. Before entering politics, he served in the city state’s military. He is now a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He was also vice-chairman of Kerry Group in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2021 and chairman and executive director of its logistics arm from 2012 to 2019. SCMP Plus... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3336863/yeo-how-trump-wants-avoid-taiwan-upending-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3336863/yeo-how-trump-wants-avoid-taiwan-upending-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 04:28:08 +0000 Christopher Nixon Cox,James Arnold Christopher Nixon Cox,James Arnold When Germany emerged as Europe’s industrial powerhouse in the 19th century, the established powers spent years attempting to contain it, culminating in a war no serious statesman desired, yet none proved skilful enough to prevent. Today, as we navigate the transition from American unipolarity, a similar question looms: will this shift follow that tragic pattern, or can it be managed through institutional adaptation as Zhou Enlai and Richard Nixon did in the early 1970s? The multipolar order is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3329275/will-todays-great-powers-heed-example-richard-nixon-and-zhou-enlai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3329275/will-todays-great-powers-heed-example-richard-nixon-and-zhou-enlai?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Andrew Sheng Andrew Sheng Are we now seeing a cyclical or structural point of inflection in financial markets? The cyclical view is that in the short term we are going up or down in a stock market bubble. The structural view is that there are deep issues changing the environment of financial markets, driven by factors such as globalisation (or deglobalisation), technology, demographics, climate change and local and geopolitical issues. The simple answer is we are not in an either-or situation, but undergoing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326888/world-financial-landscape-changing-are-we-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326888/world-financial-landscape-changing-are-we-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Chow Chung-yan Chow Chung-yan As next-generation tanks and fighter jets roll past the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, many in China will be swept up in a sense of national pride. The Chinese leadership has set a target for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to emulate the American military – often described as the greatest fighting force in history – by 2049. The futuristic hardware on show by the PLA will prompt optimism at home that China is on track to meet that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323606/chinas-military-closes-gap-us-economic-front-opens-race-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323606/chinas-military-closes-gap-us-economic-front-opens-race-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Terry Su Terry Su It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323077/china-may-not-be-waging-war-ukraine-it-still-stands-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323077/china-may-not-be-waging-war-ukraine-it-still-stands-win?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In a world barely able to keep up with the headlines that US President Donald Trump generates with policies that routinely challenge convention, he is revving up on another front that will guarantee global chatter: a bid for a Nobel Peace Prize. Last week, Trump expressed gratitude after a USA Today columnist argued that he was “the last person the Norwegian Nobel Committee would honour with its Peace Prize. Yet, it should.” “Thank you USA TODAY. So nice!” he wrote on his Truth Social account.... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3318822/trump-says-he-deserves-nobel-peace-prize-not-everyone-agrees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3318822/trump-says-he-deserves-nobel-peace-prize-not-everyone-agrees?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:05:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Given the long-degraded state of the Nobel Peace Prize, I say Donald Trump probably does deserve one, or three. It may also be jointly awarded to the US president’s Israeli partner-in-crime, the suspected war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu with an outstanding arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued by the International Criminal Court. Eventually, Netanyahu will have to end his war on the Palestinian civilian population, which ought to make him a peacemaker of sorts. If... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3318054/degraded-nobel-peace-prize-standards-could-mean-trump-deserves-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3318054/degraded-nobel-peace-prize-standards-could-mean-trump-deserves-one?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 13:34:18 +0000 James David Spellman James David Spellman Middle and major powers are using trade, investment and technology as weapons of influence in pursuit of triangular diplomacy, a stratagem of Cold War realpolitik. However, the strengths of this approach – agility, ambiguity and tactical scope – hide the dangers of entanglements that escalate instability. A nation triangulates by balancing and manoeuvring between two other powers, building leverage, reducing dependency and becoming indispensable to multiple sides without fully committing to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3311984/triangular-diplomacy-tricky-tightrope-walk-asia-pacific-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3311984/triangular-diplomacy-tricky-tightrope-walk-asia-pacific-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jun 2025 21:30:07 +0000 People often confuse the monster with Dr Frankenstein, his creator, from Mary Shelley’s gothic novel. Many have now taken to calling Donald Trump “the Manchurian candidate”, after the classic 1960s Cold War movie based on the novel of the same name by Richard Condon. That’s wrong. I will ignore, in the following, the more recent and forgettable Hollywood remake. The original Manchurian candidate was the victim. He was brainwashed under a psychological warfare programme jointly run by Soviet... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3301172/donald-trump-real-life-manchurian-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3301172/donald-trump-real-life-manchurian-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:00:10 +0000 US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns touted a “revival of a close, coordinated relationship” between the US and China on Thursday, while also saying the relationship remains “intensely competitive”. Speaking at the 50th anniversary gala of the US-China Business Council in Washington, Burns said: “I can report to you this evening that both of our governments have found a way to bring a measure of badly needed stability to the US-China relationship.” The next year would usher in “a normal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245176/china-us-relations-ambassadors-celebrating-decades-old-business-council-foresee-warmer-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245176/china-us-relations-ambassadors-celebrating-decades-old-business-council-foresee-warmer-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 07:00:15 +0000 US President Joe Biden faces many international challenges, such as reducing US dependence on China, managing South China Sea disputes, supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and the backlash over his stance on Israel. These issues are reminiscent of America’s geopolitical dilemmas during the Cold War, when Henry Kissinger was a key figure in shaping diplomatic and strategic relations. Can Biden learn from Kissinger’s approach? The answer depends on what kind of legacy Biden wants. His... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244074/how-bidens-foreign-and-trade-policy-flip-flops-are-confusing-us-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244074/how-bidens-foreign-and-trade-policy-flip-flops-are-confusing-us-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Dec 2023 21:30:08 +0000 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to the US embassy in Beijing on Tuesday to offer condolences over the death of former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, hailing his “objective and friendly” view towards China. Wang signed a condolence book for Kissinger, who died on November 29 at the age of 100. The embassy invited members of the public to visit its Beijing American Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday to honour the prominent diplomat who was well known in China for his key role in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243962/chinas-top-diplomat-wang-yi-visits-us-embassy-honour-henry-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243962/chinas-top-diplomat-wang-yi-visits-us-embassy-honour-henry-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:25:30 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Despite being one of the cities with the lowest home ownership rates in the world, Hong Kong is obsessed with properties. To many, owning their own home is their goal in life, and to the rest,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3243749/hong-kong-housing-prices-must-fall-further-homes-be-affordable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3243749/hong-kong-housing-prices-must-fall-further-homes-be-affordable?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2023 03:30:19 +0000 I first came across Dr Henry Kissinger’s name in 1971. To a seven-year-old boy, it took some time for the radio news that chairman Mao Zedong and premier Zhou Enlai were meeting a “US national security adviser Dr Kissinger” to sink in. It was only later that I came to realise this was the start of the normalisation of China-US relations. Ten years later, when I went to China Foreign Affairs University, White House Years was a must-read for me and my classmates. We had heated discussions on his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243625/best-honour-kissinger-lets-keep-working-healthy-stable-china-us-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243625/best-honour-kissinger-lets-keep-working-healthy-stable-china-us-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Dec 2023 08:30:12 +0000 Historical great men were mostly uncomplicated creatures, obsessed with one big idea. Henry Kissinger, who has died aged 100, was far too complex to be one. Depending on whether you are a European or African, an Arab or an Israeli Jew, a Sinhalese, an Indian or a Pakistani, whether you are from Chile, Argentina or Brazil, or if you are Vietnamese or Cambodian, Japanese or Korean, assessments of the man would range from being a diplomatic giant of Bismarckian proportions to a war criminal who... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243531/henry-kissinger-not-so-great-figure-20th-century-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243531/henry-kissinger-not-so-great-figure-20th-century-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:00:29 +0000 If there is such a thing as a household name in foreign affairs, it has to be Henry Kissinger, who has died aged 100. It is a name associated with high-stakes international diplomacy for 50 years, and long after he left office. Kissinger is bound to keep coming up for another 50 years in any discussion about the best or most effective diplomats or foreign ministers. He is regarded by many as America’s greatest secretary of state, and will always be regarded by Chinese leaders as a friend, on the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243431/china-loses-friend-kissinger-defender-us-interests-and-key-normalising-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243431/china-loses-friend-kissinger-defender-us-interests-and-key-normalising-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 18:59:25 +0000 The death of Henry Kissinger at the age of 100 marks the end of an era in US-China relations at a time of heightened competition and distrust between the two rival superpowers, diplomatic observers have said. The former US secretary of state’s brand of backchannel diplomacy – characterised by unofficial and informal exchanges – may continue, but analysts say the prospect of one individual playing a similar role in future are slim. He travelled to China over 100 times, including his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243406/there-wont-be-another-kissinger-how-veteran-statesmans-death-marks-end-era-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243406/there-wont-be-another-kissinger-how-veteran-statesmans-death-marks-end-era-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:00:17 +0000 The legacy of former US diplomat Henry Kissinger, who has died aged 100, sharply divides Southeast Asia, where he is respected in Singapore as a pivotal anti-Communist ally, but reviled from Vietnam to East Timor for sacrificing the lives of millions in his ruthless pursuit of American interests. The former US secretary of state and presidential adviser to Richard Nixon – and his successor Gerald Ford – was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1973 for carving out a peace agreement with North Vietnam. But... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3243412/henry-kissingers-legacy-southeast-asia-war-criminal-vietnam-close-friend-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3243412/henry-kissingers-legacy-southeast-asia-war-criminal-vietnam-close-friend-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:54:33 +0000 President Xi Jinping has conveyed his condolences on the passing of former US top diplomat Henry Kissinger, marking the highest level of tribute from China for its “old friend”. Kissinger, who was secretary of state during the height of the Cold War and played a pivotal role in shaping Sino-American relations, died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut. He was 100. In a message to US President Joe Biden, Xi expressed deep sorrow over Kissinger’s death and sincere condolences to his family on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243315/henry-kissinger-giant-diplomacy-remembered-unwavering-commitment-china-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243315/henry-kissinger-giant-diplomacy-remembered-unwavering-commitment-china-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 04:14:22 +0000 Henry Alfred Kissinger, the American diplomat, consultant and politician who served as US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, died on Wednesday, aged 100. Kissinger – a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner best known for helping Nixon establish relations with China and for his role in the Vietnam war – left an indelible mark on the latter half of the 20th century, particularly his role in US foreign policy... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3243307/charming-controversial-henry-kissinger-steered-establishment-us-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3243307/charming-controversial-henry-kissinger-steered-establishment-us-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 03:14:59 +0000 Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left an indelible mark on US foreign policy, died on Wednesday at age 100, according to his geopolitical consulting firm Kissinger Associates Inc. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, the firm said in a statement. No mention was made of the circumstances. It said he would be interred at a private family service, to be followed at a later date by a public memorial service... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3243296/henry-kissinger-dead-100?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3243296/henry-kissinger-dead-100?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 02:03:42 +0000 Former US state secretary Henry Kissinger said a US-China decoupling would lower living standards in both countries and harm their ability to manage the emerging field of artificial intelligence. “In this sense, it is essential that we learn from each other,” he said via video link at the Bund Summit, a finance forum in China’s financial hub of Shanghai. “It is essential that we should not proceed in the decoupled way.” Kissinger said China’s deep integration into the global economy has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3235574/henry-kissinger-warns-us-china-decoupling-would-harm-ai-governance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3235574/henry-kissinger-warns-us-china-decoupling-would-harm-ai-governance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Sep 2023 08:00:13 +0000 In years gone by, Henry Kissinger used to make occasional visits to China as a private United States citizen, and Beijing always rolled out the red carpet to welcome “an old friend”. This month though, the tone of his “private” visit was completely different. An unmistakable sense of urgency was shown in his meeting with President Xi Jinping such that it even overshadowed the official mission of the US climate policy tsar John Kerry, who did not get to meet Xi. The Chinese side insisted that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3228606/kissingers-visit-offers-glimmer-hope-frayed-ties-can-be-repaired?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3228606/kissingers-visit-offers-glimmer-hope-frayed-ties-can-be-repaired?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jul 2023 21:00:17 +0000 When an “old friend” of China comes to visit, no effort is too much to make the diplomatic heavyweight feel welcome. That was the case for former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger on Thursday, when the Chinese government treated him to an elaborate lunch – one that was packed with cultural significance as President Xi Jinping spoke fondly of his “old friend” who celebrated his 100th birthday in May. The meeting took place at the No 5 Villa of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the same place... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228463/henry-kissinger-treated-lavish-lunch-china-gives-us-diplomat-blessings-longevity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228463/henry-kissinger-treated-lavish-lunch-china-gives-us-diplomat-blessings-longevity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:44:31 +0000 Henry Kissinger is in Beijing for a “private trip” to get a better understanding of the Chinese leadership’s thinking and will share his impressions with the US government when he returns home, according to a source familiar with the visit. The visit was planned at least two months ago, the source said. Travelling as a private citizen – and as someone respected by political elites in both capitals – the centenarian hopes to hold more heart-to-heart talks with Chinese leaders, which are often... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228318/kissinger-meets-xi-heart-heart-talks-private-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228318/kissinger-meets-xi-heart-heart-talks-private-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jul 2023 07:00:04 +0000 Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi urged the United States not to attempt to “transform” or “encircle” China, saying Washington needed “Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom” as the veteran diplomat made a surprise visit to Beijing. Wang met Henry Kissinger after an unexpected meeting on Tuesday between the 100-year-old former US secretary of state and Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu. Military dialogues between Beijing and Washington have been paused since last August, following then US House... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228257/chinas-wang-yi-calls-kissinger-style-diplomatic-wisdom-veteran-us-diplomat-visits-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228257/chinas-wang-yi-calls-kissinger-style-diplomatic-wisdom-veteran-us-diplomat-visits-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:52:27 +0000 China wants a healthy and stable relationship with the United States but relations have been damaged by the American side, the Chinese defence minister has told Henry Kissinger. General Li Shangfu, who is on Washington’s sanctions list, told the veteran diplomat the China-US relationship is “hovering at the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations” in 1979. Li blamed the deterioration on “some people on the American side failing to meet China halfway”, according to a news... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228152/us-blame-poor-relations-sanctioned-chinese-defence-minister-tells-diplomatic-veteran-henry-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3228152/us-blame-poor-relations-sanctioned-chinese-defence-minister-tells-diplomatic-veteran-henry-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jul 2023 15:45:11 +0000 Tributes and congratulations, including those from Beijing, have been pouring in to celebrate Henry Kissinger reaching 100. We may, however, spare a few thoughts on the countless people who suffered gravely and died as a direct consequence of the foreign policies of America’s most famous diplomat – the ones who didn’t have the opportunity to live a full life. It may not be fair to blame it all on Kissinger; the institutions of which he once stood almost at the apex made all that possible, indeed... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3222097/henry-kissinger-turns-100-think-those-who-never-had-chance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3222097/henry-kissinger-turns-100-think-those-who-never-had-chance?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 May 2023 13:00:17 +0000 Henry Kissinger remains fixated on China more than 50 years after his secret, groundbreaking trip to Beijing in 1971. Unlike half a century ago, when he triangulated Beijing against Moscow with the reopening of direct diplomacy, tilting the Cold War balance of power, the former US secretary of state is now worried about a superpower war with Beijing. Kissinger, who turns 100 on Saturday, has repeatedly warned of “catastrophic consequences” of a military confrontation between the two giants,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222035/100-kissinger-still-seen-influential-old-friend-china-despite-complicated-legacy-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222035/100-kissinger-still-seen-influential-old-friend-china-despite-complicated-legacy-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2023 14:00:12 +0000 Xie Feng, China’s new ambassador to Washington, visited US former national security adviser and secretary of state Henry Kissinger on Friday to pass on Beijing’s congratulations on his 100th birthday. 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222036/chinas-envoy-us-xie-feng-congratulates-henry-kissinger-100th-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222036/chinas-envoy-us-xie-feng-congratulates-henry-kissinger-100th-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2023 09:25:52 +0000 US President Joe Biden’s recent meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has helped to divert the two countries from a path of direct military conflict, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger told the American and Chinese business communities on Wednesday. The man who helped re-establish US-China ties in the 1970s also urged Washington and Beijing to continue their engagement. Kissinger, 99, who accompanied presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford to China, said there are... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3207376/path-military-conflict-diverted-xi-biden-summit-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3207376/path-military-conflict-diverted-xi-biden-summit-kissinger?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:30:08 +0000 US elder statesman Henry Kissinger said that Russia’s invasion shows there is no longer a point to keeping Ukraine out of Nato, the long-held aspiration of Kyiv that he had opposed. The 99-year-old former secretary of state and apostle of realpolitik has for months advocated a ceasefire in the Ukraine war that would in effect accept some military gains by Russia. But speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kissinger said that Nato membership for Ukraine would be an “appropriate... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3207194/henry-kissinger-softens-stance-ukraine-joining-nato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3207194/henry-kissinger-softens-stance-ukraine-joining-nato?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jan 2023 02:52:58 +0000 As Vladimir Putin has threatened nuclear escalation in Ukraine, the Joe Biden administration has reportedly been studying the Cuban missile crisis. According to a report in The New York Times, “Mr Biden has been looking to help the Russian president find an ‘off-ramp’ that might avert the worst outcome. His logic came right out of the Cuban missile crisis, to which Mr Biden referred twice in his comments at a Democratic fundraiser in New York, a good indication of what is on his mind.” It’s not... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3195443/joe-biden-should-look-kissinger-not-jfk-help-end-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3195443/joe-biden-should-look-kissinger-not-jfk-help-end-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Oct 2022 13:00:09 +0000 Could tensions between China and the United States be easing? Henry Kissinger thinks so. There have certainly been signs that both sides may be pulling back, as they must realise there is nothing to gain and much to lose in any armed conflict, however limited. That may be so, but the US tech and economic war against China will continue, perhaps even intensify. Recently, the US state and defence departments have toned down quite a bit. In an interview on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS last week, US... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3194802/henry-kissinger-sees-ray-hope-china-us-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3194802/henry-kissinger-sees-ray-hope-china-us-front?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Oct 2022 13:00:10 +0000 After watching China’s “no limits” partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin fall well short of expectations, the stage is set for President Xi Jinping to tilt at least modestly toward the United States after the 20th party congress, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said on Monday. “Xi gave a rather blank check to Putin,” Kissinger said at the Asia Society in New York. “He must have thought the invasion would succeed. He must need to recalibrate.” A slow easing of US-China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3194737/xi-jinping-may-recalibrate-after-miscalculation-siding-russia-henry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3194737/xi-jinping-may-recalibrate-after-miscalculation-siding-russia-henry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:17:50 +0000 Modern geopolitics requires “Nixonian flexibility” to help defuse conflicts between the United States and China, as well as Russia and the rest of Europe, according to former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger. The man who helped re-establish US-China ties in the 1970s said President Joe Biden should be wary of letting domestic politics interfere with “the importance of understanding the permanence of China”. “Biden and previous administrations have been too much influenced by the domestic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3185904/henry-kissinger-warns-against-endless-confrontation-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3185904/henry-kissinger-warns-against-endless-confrontation-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:53:19 +0000 Belligerence and self-righteousness are a deadly combination to bring to a geopolitical conflict. But that is precisely what the West has brought to the war in Ukraine. After the initial orgy of self-congratulation and celebration of unity and moral purpose, though, many are now predictably having second thoughts. Only in March, victory was all about deposing Vladimir Putin, bringing Russia to its knees, and restoring all of Ukraine’s territories and then some. Now, not losing counts as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181684/macron-and-kissinger-are-right-about-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181684/macron-and-kissinger-are-right-about-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:00:27 +0000 When Henry Kissinger speaks, the world listens. The former US secretary of state’s address to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, on May 23 was no exception. Aged 99, Kissinger remains true to the theory of the balance of power that he has long championed by appealing for Russia, now widely deemed the outright invader of its neighbour Ukraine, not to be completely isolated and for the US-China adversarial relationship to be eased. It is important to remember that Kissinger’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3179995/kissingers-shadow-how-will-history-judge-blinkens-diplomatic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3179995/kissingers-shadow-how-will-history-judge-blinkens-diplomatic?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jun 2022 17:30:15 +0000 I love reading the one-on-one conversations between Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. We have all become the proverbial fly on the wall inside the Nixon White House over the years, thanks to a steady stream of releases from public records, official investigations, freedom of information requests and their own memoirs and biographies. They range from ugly outbursts and obsequious ingratiation worthy of the worst of America’s daytime soap operas to uncommon political wisdom on par with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3157679/kissinger-insight-missing-big-picture-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3157679/kissinger-insight-missing-big-picture-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Nov 2021 13:00:21 +0000 Henry Kissinger has said he does not believe Chinese President Xi Jinping will launch a war within the next decade to take Taiwan under Beijing’s control. “I don’t expect an all-out attack on Taiwan in, say, a 10-year period, which is as far as I can see,” the former US national security adviser and secretary of state told CNN in an interview on Sunday. “I think it is perfectly possible that if the confrontation keeps growing, the Chinese will take measures that will weaken the Taiwanese ability... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3156903/henry-kissinger-not-expecting-china-try-take-taiwan-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3156903/henry-kissinger-not-expecting-china-try-take-taiwan-next?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 03:53:33 +0000 As official US-China exchanges slowed amid rising tensions, a Wall Street veteran visited Beijing for talks with a top leader – acting as a powerful backchannel for the two nations, the Post has learned. John Thornton, executive chairman of Barrick Gold Corp and a former Goldman Sachs president, met Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng in Beijing in late August, according to a person familiar with the details of the meeting. The key issues discussed included climate change, Xinjiang and conditions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3150003/kissingers-secret-china-trip-recalled-wall-street-veteran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3150003/kissingers-secret-china-trip-recalled-wall-street-veteran?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 2021 21:00:18 +0000 Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger called for serious dialogue between China and the United States to avoid “catastrophe”, during a Beijing event celebrating his historic trip to China 50 years ago. The 98-year-old again warned against further deterioration of Sino-US relations when he appeared by video on Friday at an event in Beijing celebrating his first secret visit to China in 1971. That visit paved the way for China and the US to establish formal diplomatic relations in 1979. “So... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3140559/henry-kissinger-marks-50-years-first-china-visit-call-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3140559/henry-kissinger-marks-50-years-first-china-visit-call-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jul 2021 15:00:14 +0000