The Foreign Service Journal, September 2012

F ORMER S ECRETARY OF S TATE H ENRY K ISSINGER SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF U.S.-C HINA RELATIONS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DIPLOMACY . S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 s national security adviser from 1969 to 1975, Henry Kissinger was instrumen- tal in paving the way for President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing in February 1972, and the subsequent es- tablishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two governments. As Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977, Kissinger continued to cultivate the new relationship, among many other diplomatic initiatives. For this special issue of the Foreign Service Journal , he graciously agreed to reflect on the 40th anniversary of the es- F OCUS ON U. S . -C HINA R ELAT IONS F OUR D ECADES AFTER THE O PENING TO C HINA Carl Wiens A