-- An interview with U.S strategist Brzenzinski
If Beijing trips of Dr. Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s are said to have opened the gate for Sino-U.S. bilateral relations, then the China visit by Dr. Zbigniew Brzenzinski, President Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser, in May 1978 truly commenced the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.
On the eve of celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations, People's Daily resident reporter Ma Xiaoning in the U.S. had an exclusive interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzenzinski at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC to review the events of great historic significance.
In a conspicuous space on the wall of his office are hung historic photos recording his first-ever trip to Beijing and late senior Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping dining with him at his house during Deng's first visit to the U.S. three decades ago. Beyond any doubt, this diplomatic move brought him a sense of immmense achievements, and he was, therefore, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 for his contribution in resuming U.S.-China diplomatic ties and other feats in the diplomatic sphere.
Recalling the historical background of deliberating on the issue relating to the restoration of U.S.-China relations, Brzenzinski, who was widely known as an ace strategic thinker in contemporary U.S., spoke about it with absorbed interest.
When President Carter took office in January 1977, he submitted Carter a work schedule, whose top items on agenda included the normalization of U.S-China ties. Apart from taking the factor of the former Soviet Union into account in advancing the U.S.-China relations, Brzenzinski, as a top Russia expert in his 80's, underscored another principal reason, namely, it was abnormal and unreasonable that the two great nations did not have diplomatic ties.
Carrying with him President Carter's written instructions, Brzenzinski came to Beijing on May 20, 1978 to explore a possibility for resuming U.S.-China diplomatic relations. On the following day, he met with Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping, who was then in charge of diplomatic affairs, and they conferred for two and a half hours. During their talks, he told Deng that the United States had made up its mind and hoped to go in for substantial talks to resume diplomatic ties with China.
In the ensuing dinner held for Brzenzinski, Deng expressed his desire to visit the U.S. in three years, and Brzenzinski got at the implication of his remarks, and readily told him that he could visit U.S within three years and be welcome to a family dinner at Brzenzinski's home.
In face of the sensitive Taiwan issue lying between the two nations since President Nixon's first-ever China trip in 1972, Brzenzinski was so assured of the prospects for restoration of U.S.-China diplomatic ties, as the coincidence of strategic interests had been located by the two nations, and their leaders resolved to hasten the normalization process of ilateral ties, he acknowledged.
Expectations for about seven years came true only in a matter of seven months. Right after China and the U.S. restored their diplomatic ties on the new year's day in 1979, Deng Xiaoping soon paid a historic visit to the U.S. in January of the year, which started with a dinner given in his honor at at the home of Brzenzinski, who confided in realism and subsequently cited Deng as a great realist statesmen with a far-sighted, in-depth acumen.
With the passage of 30 years in a flash, noticeable attainments have been scored in Sino-U.S. relations. The growth of U.S.-China ties has far exceed what people have previously anticipated, Brzenzinski said, noting that he was very happy to see Sino-U.S. relations outstrip the strategic considerations given at the time of the restoration of bilateral ties in term of both width and depth and been turned into the mutually dependent, constructive relations of cooperation based on common strategic interests. He also expressed the belief that the U.S.-China ties are the most vital, bilateral relations either to the U.S. or to China, and the bilateral relations with the greatest hope or vigor.
China's rise is peaceful since it stems from the growth of the country's actual strength, and this is sure to exert pressures on the redistribution of power in the existing global setup, he said, because the international setup coming into being in 1940s could no longer comply with the present international reality, and so China has every reason to amend this setup.
Moreover, in face of China's rise, the United States should also readjust itself with a sense of far-sightedness, effect a change of the international setup gradually, and re-define its leading position, Brzenzinski said.
By People's Daily Online
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