BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing Friday, that reminds his secret visit to China in 1971 via Pakistan.

Chinese leadership give great respect to Kissinger for his pioneering role in China's opening to the World. Kissinger visited China two times in a year i.e. July and October, 1971 when he was the National Security Adviser of the US.

His visit to China was an event of great significance in the global power system of the cold war period. The significance of the event lies in the fact that it marked an inception of the bilateral relationship between China and USA.

The visit shifted the balance of power in favor of the US-led western bloc leaving USSR in a helpless state. However, this event was a great accomplishment for the diplomatic circles of Pakistan for its defining role in turning the distant dream into a reality. He made these secret trips to Beijing with the connivance of the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai who organized the beginning of relations of the People's Republic of China with the West and maintained the same which remained successful as the subsequent history shows. President Xi during his meeting with Kissinger said China will work closely with the United States at a new starting point to maintain the smooth transition of ties and stable growth.

"The development of China-U.S. ties since the forging of diplomatic ties has proven our common interests far outweigh differences," Xi said.

Xi stressed that China and the United States should have a correct understanding of each other's strategic intention, abandon the zero-sum mentality, stick to non-confrontation, respect each other and carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, to boost the building of a new type of major country relationship between China and the United States. Kissinger told Xi that he believes it is the expectation of the U.S. new administration to facilitate sustained, stable and better growth of U.S.-China relations.

As a trailblazer for China-U.S. ties, the 93-year-old strategist paid a secret visit to China in 1971, which broke the ice and paved way for the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties in 1979.-INP