“China is taking a path of peaceful development and that’s a blessing not a misfortune for the world, and the United States should make a correct strategic judgment.”
A senior Chinese general cited US sanctions imposed on Li – for his alleged role in acquiring Russian weapons for the People’s Liberation Army – as a reason for declining the meeting.
Beijing has also been resisting calls for the US military and the PLA to resume high-level communications after they were cut last August following former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, something Beijing saw as a serious breach of its sovereignty.
“We have always been committed to building a stable, predictable and constructive China-US relationship,” Li said.
Referring to a meeting last year between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, he added: “We hope that the US side will work with us to implement the consensus of the heads of state of the two countries and jointly promote the healthy and stable development of the relationship between the two countries and two militaries.”
Kissinger said he was visiting “as a friend of China”, according to the Chinese statement, adding that the two countries should “resolve misunderstandings, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation”.
“History and practice have continuously proven that neither the United States nor China can afford to treat the other as an adversary,” said Kissinger, who turned 100 earlier this year.
“A war between the two countries would not bring any meaningful results to the peoples of the two countries.”
He suggested the PLA and the US military strengthen communication, and “do their best to create positive results for the development of relations between the two countries and maintain world peace and stability”.
