Joe Biden with Henry Kissinger
President Joe Biden praised the fierce intellect of the late US Ambassador Henry Kissinger on Thursday but said they frequently strongly disagreed.
“Throughout our careers, we often disagreed. And often strongly”, Biden added in a statement that recalled Kissinger’s fierce intellect and profound strategic focus.
Kissinger, a former secretary of state and White House adviser passed away on Wednesday at the age of 100.
Henry Kissinger, the unapologetic promoter of raw American might who helped build the post-World War II world, died Wednesday, according to his consultancy firm. He was 100.
Kissinger, possibly the most recognizable secretary of state of the modern era, died at his home in Connecticut, according to Kissinger Associates, through which the late diplomat became wealthy by assisting businesses for decades following his official service.
Kissinger’s family would have a private funeral, with a memorial service later in New York, where he grew up after his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany.
The reason for death was not specified in the announcement. Even as a centenarian, Kissinger traveled to China in July to see President Xi Jinping.
Kissinger’s legacy in China was one of his most lasting. Kissinger secretly reached out to Beijing in the hopes of shaking up the Cold War fight against the Soviet Union, culminating in a historic 1972 visit by President Richard Nixon and later the US establishment of relations with the isolated country, which has soared to become the world’s second-largest economy and a growing competitor with Washington.
While Kissinger was loathed around the world, China’s foreign ministry honored him on Thursday as an old and good friend of the Chinese people.
Kissinger had long been concerned about and supported the development of China-US relations, visiting China more than a hundred times and making historic contributions to promote the normalization of China-US relations, according to foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Kissinger was praised by Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, for his significant contributions to Asian peace and stability, including the normalization of diplomatic ties between the US and China.
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