Preface
FORTY YEARS AGO almost to the day, President Richard
Nixon did me the honor of sending me to Beijing to reestablish
contact with a country central to the history of Asia with which
America had had no high-level contact for over twenty years. The
American motive for the opening was to put before our people a
vision of peace transcending the travail of the Vietnam War and the
ominous vistas of the Cold War. China, though technically an ally
of the Soviet Union, was in quest of maneuvering room to resist a
threatened attack from Moscow.
In the interval I
have been to China more than fifty times. Like many visitors over
the centuries, I have come to admire the Chinese people, their
endurance, their subtlety, their family sense, and the culture they
represent. At the same time, all my life I have reflected on the
building of peace, largely from an American perspective. I have had
the good luck of being able to pursue these two strands of thinking
simultaneously as a senior official, as a carrier of messages, and
as a scholar.
This book is an
effort, based in part on conversations with Chinese leaders, to
explain the conceptual way the Chinese think about problems of
peace and war and international order, and its relationship to the
more pragmatic, case-by-case American approach. Different histories
and cultures produce occasionally divergent conclusions. I do not
always agree with the Chinese perspective, nor will every reader.
But it is necessary to understand it, since China will play such a
big role in the world that is emerging in the twenty-first
century.
Since my first visit,
China has become an economic superpower and a major factor in
shaping the global political order. The United States has prevailed
in the Cold War. The relationship between China and the United
States has become a central element in the quest for world peace
and global well-being.
Eight American
presidents and four generations of Chinese leaders have managed
this delicate relationship in an astonishingly consistent manner,
considering the difference in starting points. Both sides have
refused to permit historic legacies or different conceptions of
domestic order to interrupt their essentially cooperative
relationship.
It has been a complex
journey, for both societies believe they represent unique values.
American exceptionalism is missionary. It holds that the United
States has an obligation to spread its values to every part of the
world. China’s exceptionalism is cultural. China does not
proselytize; it does not claim that its contemporary institutions
are relevant outside China. But it is the heir of the Middle
Kingdom tradition, which formally graded all other states as
various levels of tributaries based on their approximation to
Chinese cultural and political forms; in other words, a kind of
cultural universality.
A primary focus of
this book is the interaction between Chinese and American leaders
since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. Both in
and out of government, I have kept records of my conversations with
four generations of Chinese leaders and have drawn on them as a
primary source in writing this book.
This book could not
have been written without the dedicated and able assistance of
associates and of friends who permitted me to impose on them for
help.
Schuyler Schouten was
indispensable. He came to my attention eight years ago when
Professor John Gaddis of Yale recommended him as one of his ablest
students. When I started this project I asked him to take a
two-month leave from his law firm. He did so, and in the process
became so involved that he saw the effort through to its end a year
later. Schuyler undertook much of the basic research. He helped
with the translation of Chinese texts and even more with
penetrating the implications of some of the subtler ones. He was
indefatigable during the editing and proofreading phase. I have
never had a better research associate and very rarely one as
good.
It has been my good
fortune to have Stephanie Junger-Moat work with me for a decade
across the gamut of my activities. She was what in baseball they
would call the essential utility player. She did research and some
editing, and was the principal liaison with the publisher. She
checked all the endnotes. She helped coordinate the typing and
never hesitated to pitch in when deadlines approached. Her crucial
contribution was reinforced by her charm and diplomatic
skill.
Harry Evans edited
White House Years thirty years ago. He
permitted me to impose on our friendship to go over the entire
manuscript. His editorial and structural suggestions were numerous
and wise.
Theresa Amantea and
Jody Williams typed the manuscript many times over and spent many
evenings and weekends helping meet deadlines. Their good cheer,
efficiency, and sharp eye for detail were vital.
Stapleton Roy, former
ambassador to China and distinguished China scholar; Winston Lord,
my associate during the opening to China and later ambassador to
China; and Dick Viets, my literary executor, read several chapters
and made insightful comments. Jon Vanden Heuvel provided helpful
research on several chapters.
Publishing with The
Penguin Press was a happy experience. Ann Godoff was always
available, ever insightful, never harassing, and fun to be with.
Bruce Giffords, Noirin Lucas, and Tory Klose expertly shepherded
the book through the editorial production process. Fred Chase
copyedited the manuscript with care and efficiency. Laura Stickney
was the book’s principal editor. Young enough to be my
granddaughter, she was in no way intimidated by the author. She
overcame her reservations about my political views sufficiently
that I came to look forward to her occasionally acerbic and always
incisive comments in the margins of the manuscript. She was
indefatigable, perceptive, and vastly helpful.
To all these people I
am immensely grateful.
The governmental
papers on which I drew have all been declassified for some time. I
would like to thank in particular the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars Cold War International History Project for
permission to use extended excerpts from their archive of
declassified Russian and Chinese documents. The Carter Library
helpfully made available many of the transcripts of meetings with
Chinese leaders during the Carter presidency, and the Reagan
Library provided numerous useful documents from their
files.
Needless to say, the
shortcomings of the book are my own.
As always over half a
century, my wife, Nancy, provided her staunch moral and
intellectual support amidst the solitude authors (or at least this
author) generate around themselves when writing. She read most of
the chapters and made innumerable important
suggestions.
I have dedicated
On China to Annette and Oscar de la
Renta. I started the book in their home in Punta Cana and finished
it there. Their hospitality has been only one facet of a friendship
that has added joy and depth to my life.
Henry A.
Kissinger
New York, January 2011
New York, January 2011