TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Friday (July 9) the United States and China should immediately sit down for talks using ex-President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing as a model.

The 97-year-old statesman made the statement during a webinar marking the 50th anniversary of a secret trip of his to China, attended by Wang Qishan (王岐山), vice president of the People’s Republic of China. Kissinger said one of the key results of Nixon’s groundbreaking visit was the U.S. came to understand China’s claims over Taiwan, while China understood that it would take a long time to change the situation, CNA reported.

Once again, there was a need for the U.S. and China to open a dialogue, just like when Nixon met and talked with China's communist leaders, Kissinger said. In his reply to the former U.S. diplomat, Wang blamed the current tension completely on the American side, adding it should be looking for problems inside the country, as its biggest challenge was not China.