BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent his condolences to his US counterpart Joe Biden over the death of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.
Spokesperson during his regular briefing said Kissinger was a “dear old friend” of the Chinese people and a pioneer and builder of China-US ties, who has made historic contributions to the normalization of relationship between the two countries.
He said that the Chinese people will always remember Dr. Kissinger for his sincere devotion and important contribution to China-U.S. ties.
According to Wang, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi have separately sent condolence messages to Kissinger’s family and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Henry Kissinger, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US Secretary of State, whose service under two American presidents left an indelible mark on American foreign policy, died on Wednesday, Kissinger Associates Inc said in a statement.
According to the statement, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut.
In the 1970s, Henry Kissinger had a hand in many of global events of the decade while serving as top diplomat of the US under Republican President Richard Nixon. Kissinger’s reign as the main architect of US foreign policy declined with Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
