China’s leadership went out of its way to pay tribute to former US secretary of state and national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, following his death at the age of 100 on 29 November. In a message to US president Joe Biden, China’s leader Xi Jinping (习近平) called Kissinger “a world-renowned strategist and an old friend and good friend of the Chinese people” who will be “remembered and missed”, while China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi (王毅), visited the US Embassy in Beijing to convey his condolences. Cynics may view this as testimony to Kissinger’s transactional relationship with Beijing: access to the highest echelons of power in return for praise, moderation and no crossing of any red lines. But China’s appreciation of Kissinger is more complex than this.
Did he ever ride the Beijing subway? Did he ever try to exchange currency at a bank? Did he use the toilets along the hutongs? Did he visit a migrant school, or any school? Did he visit an orphanage? Did he have a favorite street food? If not, he had a very narrow, curated (to use contemporary jargon) view of things, metaphorically a view from first class or riding in a black Audi. I'm not sure how well he understood China.
Arthur Waldon says Kissinger's book on China is terrible. He says Kissinger did not even try to understand China in any depth. Kissinger was more a CCP sap than he was a student of China. The amount of Chinese language ability and years spent resident of China of some prominent US "experts" on China: Ray Dalio, Hank Paulson and Kissinger are 0,0,0,0,0 and 0.
Did he ever ride the Beijing subway? Did he ever try to exchange currency at a bank? Did he use the toilets along the hutongs? Did he visit a migrant school, or any school? Did he visit an orphanage? Did he have a favorite street food? If not, he had a very narrow, curated (to use contemporary jargon) view of things, metaphorically a view from first class or riding in a black Audi. I'm not sure how well he understood China.
did he ever visit Taiwan?
There was praise for that too... https://web.archive.org/web/20231218195226/https://news.ifeng.com/c/8VCEKl4liwC
Quite honestly, I'm not sure. Did he?
would he have liked it more pre- or post-87?
Arthur Waldon says Kissinger's book on China is terrible. He says Kissinger did not even try to understand China in any depth. Kissinger was more a CCP sap than he was a student of China. The amount of Chinese language ability and years spent resident of China of some prominent US "experts" on China: Ray Dalio, Hank Paulson and Kissinger are 0,0,0,0,0 and 0.