Xi-Biden Summit in Bali ‘Fortunately’ Reversed Slide Into US-China War, Kissinger Says

Following a dramatic confrontation over Taiwan in August, US-China relations soured and communication lines frayed as Washington seemed to double down on “decoupling” from China. However, a meeting at the G20 summit that November helped re-establish the limits of their competition.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Wednesday that it was a good thing the US and Chinese leaders met in November, as it likely averted the two nations from an inevitable slide toward open war.

Speaking to a Lunar New Year gala hosted by the US chapter of the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) in New York City, the 99-year-old elder statesman noted there are many thinkers in the United States who believe China is preparing for a confrontation with the US, and many in China who believe the US is moving to block China’s continued rise and keep it in a subjugated position.

“Such suspicions and tendencies would lead to conflict,” he warned. “Fortunately, recently President Biden and Xi met in Bali and stated an intention to reverse this trend.”

Kissinger added he has “every confidence” US President Joe Biden and his foreign minister, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “intend to move towards a relationship more compatible with peace and development in the world.”

Responsibilities of Nuclear Weapons States

Kissinger, whose diplomatic career included secret negotiations that led to the US and the People’s Republic of China normalizing diplomatic relations in 1979, is no stranger to navigating the tightrope between war and peace. His realpolitik approach to global affairs was summarized in his expression: “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.”

The elder statesman has long criticized Washington’s “great power competition” strategy towards China and Russia, warning that playing a game of chicken with nuclear-armed states is too risky. He has called for more flexibility and patience from the White House, and pointed out that China will be a permanent feature on the global stage, so the US has to manage that relationship responsibly.

“That responsibility is that the evolution of technology and the evolution of the capacity of technological use of weapons, that these two countries have the capacity to destroy humanity,” he warned in his Wednesday address.

Kissinger’s comments come after Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calling for the world to “abandon the Cold War mentality” and cooperate toward a “shared future for mankind.” Later, Liu met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the two pledged to increase communication and cooperation on economic issues as both nations struggle to recover from the stagnation experienced in 2022.

Repairing Frayed Lines

Their meeting was an important step in restoring communications with China, which frayed in the wake of a provocative visit to Taiwan by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Beijing regards Taiwan as a Chinese province in rebellion, and sees US support for the government in Taipei, even if informal, as meddling in Chinese internal affairs. The visit was warned against by Beijing, and was followed by massive military drills that observers feared were a rehearsal for an invasion of the island.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's sneaky visit to the Taiwan region, the US Senate's review of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, and remarks related to 'defending Taiwan' - all of these have seriously challenged the three China-US joint communiqués and gravely undermined the political foundation of China-US relations," Chinese State Councilor and then-Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the time.

In the weeks that followed, numerous communication lines were severed, and some, including between the US and Chinese militaries, are still struggling to be restored.

Earlier this week, Kissinger invoked the crisis in comments to a WEF audience, saying that an “imminent showdown” over Taiwan should be avoided and both sides should avoid using threatening language that makes dialogue harder.

“Each side needs to consider for itself how the threat to human survival of the destructiveness of weapons, coupled with making them almost conscious in their application, can be dealt with,” Kissinger said.