Henry Kissinger Warns Against Endless US, China Confrontation

Lee Kuan Yew there is a wonderful bend of your book where you have Lee Kuan Yew comes to Harvard and there is a group of professors your erstwhile colleagues there and they have a long debate about how terrible Vietnam is and whether America is merely sort of psychopathic or deeply wrong. And eventually he stops. Then they ask him what he thinks. And he says. You make me sick. And then goes on a long lecture to them about how it was important to places like Singapore but America stayed know how important it good for America. You play a role in Asia because China would be a major force and small countries like Singapore needed America. They need some outside friends. And Chile objected to American running themselves down at Harvard. and I wondered which I mean I was a particularly demonstrative example of it. But I wonder if you put Lee Kuan Yew beside Joe Biden. And now what. What would he tell Joe Biden to do about China from the same perspective. I think. Because I've often heard him lecture Americans and me. . The importance of understanding Of China that one could not eliminate the Chinese problem so therefore one had to find a way. Of living with China that it was very important to prevent China. From becoming the hedge man of the world. But it was also important to recognize that it could not be achieved by permanent confrontation. And that was one of his basic themes. And would that apply that to Biden now. He would. That means dealing with China on a long term way I presume. I think that. Biden and previous administrations have been. Too much influence by the domestic aspects. The view of China. And that. It is of course important. To prevent Chinese and any other countries Germany. But that is a permanent assignment that is not something that can be achieved by. Endless confrontations I did rather will require some occasional periods of adjustment. But also a period of confrontation. But above all a strategic design. Do you think at this moment China is in a weaker state than it was before it's got all the problems with Covid. It seems to make itself more unpopular in the region. I think. It's dangerous to touch this on a short term basis. China shouldn't at the moment Array of of problems. And. But whatever judgment one makes of that. China has seen itself as central kingdom and act like the. It's not an attitude we can accept. It's an attitude we must resist.

Channel: Bloomberg Television

Views: 40,965

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Id: G-lPgKVmQVU

Length: 4min 26sec (266 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 20 2022