Xi, Kissinger meet at historic site

President Xi Jinping met with former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Beijing on Thursday.

Kissinger, who just celebrated his 100th birthday, has visited China more than 100 times since his first secret trip to the country in 1971, which commenced the normalization of China-U.S. relations.

During the meeting, Xi said 52 years ago, China and the U.S. were at a crucial turning point.

"It was also in July in the same place - Villa No. 5 of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse - you and Premier Zhou Enlai had a meeting to start the normalization process," Xi said, adding the meeting was of historic significance.

He said the Chinese people value friendship and are grateful to old friends like Kissinger. "We will not forget the historical contributions you have made to the development of China-U.S. relations and the friendship between the Chinese and American people."

Kissinger thanked his hosts for arranging the meeting at the place where he met Chinese leaders for the first time. "The relationship between our two countries is crucial to world peace and the progress of our society," he said.