Henry Kissinger Chapter Summary

This annual program focuses on the importance of the relations between the U.S. and China. The webcast featured formal U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Dr. Kissinger addressed a national audience on his past encounters with U.S. China correspondence. Also, he talked about how countries at large can benefit from a more cordial relationship. Participants were able to submit questions via social media.
Henry A Kissinger was the 56th Secretary of State (1973-1977) and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1975). He has also taught at Harvard University and is currently chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. While national security advisor, Dr. Kissinger played a crucial role in arranging President Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, which opened the door to the re-establishment of U.S.-China relations. He is respected for his many decades of efforts to strengthen the Sino-American relationship during the past half-century.
The relationship between the U.S. and China is one of the most important two-sided relationships in this century. Dr. Kissinger made lots of valid point in his webinar. Kissinger
said new “POTUS should appoint personal staffer conversant in Chinese host/culture on day one as liaison with China”. Also, he mentioned that “Not every problem in the world can be solved by the United States alone”. One of his many points that really had a great deal of importance to me was when he talked about the Chinese exceptionalism vs.
American exceptionalism. Dr. Kissinger believes that the Chinese exceptionalism is more culturally focused, “It does not attempt to make the world Chinese. While the American exceptionalism is more missionary focused. It is possible that some disagreements can develop on those grounds. That’s why he believes that the U.S. should appoint someone that have a strong knowledge of the cultural practices of both countries. Dr. Kissinger talked about how most leaders should understand that there is a greater necessity in peace and progress of the world. He believes that the U.S. and China already have a constructive relationship, now they need to explore more ways to build on
that
What I take away from Dr. Kissinger’s lecture is to build a mutually beneficial relationship that Is based on trust with a foreign country one would have to start with a right analysis of the current position of the country as a whole, where they find themselves. That way they can come up with a better understanding on where they are trying to go.