Preliminary

Kissinger is known as "the greatest Secretary of State in American history." In the face of complex international situations, Kissinger often has different views from ordinary people. Kissinger died of illness at the age of 100 in 2023. He was interviewed by the media a few months ago.

A U.S. Navy Major asked Kissinger a sharp question: How can the United States defeat China?

The diplomat who studied international relations and the game of great powers for a lifetime gave a five-word answer after a moment of meditation. ¡°Cohesion is strong.¡±This short and profound response made the people present think deeply.

Kissinger can be said to be an old friend of China, and his last visit to China was in 2023, this time for the sake of China-U.S. relations.

According to the legend, Kissinger believes that China has a strong cohesion gene, which is closely related to its ancient "Great Unity" tradition, and the 5,000-year accumulation of civilization has allowed China to stimulate the mobilization of the whole people at a critical moment and form a strong collective action force that is united to the outside world.

From natural disaster response to national security affairs, China can quickly mobilize national resources and show a high degree of unity. This ability is deeply rooted in historical and cultural traditions and has become a unique advantage in the development of modern China.

Looking back on the United States, Kissinger pointed out that it focuses more on individual freedom and elite competition, strategic decisions are often interfered with factors such as election cycles, disagreements in public opinion, and it is difficult to form a long-term consistent national strategy.

Kissinger has a deep relationship with China. In 1971, as President Nixon's national security assistant, he secretly took a military plane across the Himalayas and successfully arrived in Beijing.

His talks with Prime Minister Zhou Enlai laid the foundation for the subsequent visit of President Nixon to China, opened a half-century-long process of ¡°breaking the ice¡± between China and the United States, and in 1972 the two sides signed the Shanghai Communiqué, establishing a basic framework for cooperation between China and the United States.

Over the course of more than 40 years, Kissinger visited China more than 80 times and had deep contacts with five generations of Chinese leaders, which gave him a profound understanding of China's strategic thinking and development model.

Kissinger summarized the differences in American thinking: Americans believe that it is possible to change the values of other countries by educating, while Chinese believe more in the principles of behavior, Chinese seeking respect for others, and Americans seeking conversion from others.

This difference is reflected in the national development path, China has a super-large domestic market and a complete industrial system, forming a complete industrial system.

It is different from the four "old world two" that the United States faced before. The Chinese economy has a strong inherent momentum and resistance to risk, and when the United States is launching a trade war, China can use market advantages and industrial chain advantages to resolve most of the pressure.

Kissinger observed that China did not choose to challenge U.S. hegemony positively, but to build a more inclusive network of international cooperation through mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative, a strategy that reflects the Chinese people's circadian thinking, attaching importance to the long-term layout and the overall interests.

In terms of military strength, the Chinese navy has 370 main battleships in active service, far exceeding the 292 of the United States. China has achieved global leadership in cutting-edge technologies such as hypersonic weapons, drones, and quantum communications.

In terms of scientific and technological research and development investment, China hasined two-digit growth in several key technology fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and communications, China is the only country in the world with a complete industrial system, the number of patent applications in the field of high-tech for four years in a row.

These changes are not accidental, but the strategic achievements of China¡¯s promotion of national security, economic development and national rejuvenation, and the trends predicted by Kissinger are becoming a reality.

The United States has successfully suppressed four "second children in the world", Britain, the Soviet Union, Japan and the European Union, but Kissinger pointed out that China is completely different from the previous "second children", and the traditional checks and balances of the United States have repeatedly failed in front of China.

The United States faces three major real-world challenges, first of all, the expense of military resources. Pentagon assessments show that if U.S. troops simultaneously intervene in the conflict in the Taiwan Sea and Ukraine, ammunition reserves can only be supported for up to three weeks.

Secondly, the economic counterfeiting has intensified, and tariffs on China have led to a surge in U.S. inflation, while China¡¯s rare-earth export controls have caused the U.S. military industry to panic.

Third, the dissolution of the allied system, Germany refused to disconnect from China, Saudi Arabia began to use the yuan to settle oil, India withdrew from the "quarter-party chip alliance", all allies adjusted their positions, and U.S. sanctions measures gradually failed.

Kissinger made a shocking point in his last public interview: The biggest strategic mistake of the United States is to push China and Russia into opposing camps at the same time. He said: "We are now on the verge of a conflict with the two nuclear powers, and this dilemma is caused by the United States itself."

The reality of 2025 confirmed Kissinger's prediction that the Chinese-Russian joint military exercises would go deeper and closer to the U.S. coast; the Russian oil accounted for more than 80% of the RMB, and the yields of U.S. government bonds would rise due to the pressure of huge military spending.

The Brookings Institute had issued a report suggesting giving up confrontation and turning to closer ties with China and Russia, but the report, known as the ¡°Hegemony Self-Rescue Manual,¡± came too late, and the global situation has long ceased to wait for the United States.

Kissinger once said deeply helplessly: ¡°America¡¯s biggest enemy is not China, but its own short-sightedness.¡±The domestic political struggle in the United States has exacerbated Democratic criticism of ¡°compromising with authoritarian regimes,¡± and military-industrial groups have lobbied Congress against reconciliation with China and Russia.

Different from the previous four "second largest countries in the world", China did not blindly confront the United States, neither succumbed nor confronted it. Instead, it insisted on independent development and focused on improving its own strength. This strategic determination makes China the only big country that can resist the political pressure of the United States while maintaining economic growth.

Militarily, China adheres to the independent development of national defense technology, does not entrust security to others, and does not fall into the trap of the arms race, a balance that allows China to maintain development while avoiding being dragged into conflict.

At the value level, China has immunity, the United States has subverted many countries through the export of values such as "freedom", "democracy", but the effect in China is limited, with the popularity of national education and economic development, the Chinese people have a more rational understanding of Western values.

China's "community of human destiny" concept is in sharp contrast to the hegemonic thinking of the United States, which attracts more and more countries with an inclusive and forward-looking global view.

In September 2025, former US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and former National Security Council Chief of China Affairs, Du Jonson, published a joint article in the New York Times, rarely acknowledging that the United States can no longer fight China on its own.

The surrender of the ¡°Indo-Pacific tsar¡± who studied the 30-year strategy against China confirmed Kissinger¡¯s vision.

What Kissinger saw was not the number of ships or GDP figures, but the contest between civilized heritage and strategic patience. His five-word answers are more unified than any military strategy, the game of great powers, and ultimately the game of inner cohesion.