Former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.
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People on China’s social media are awestruck by Henry Kissinger’s stamina at 100.The former US secretary of state met China’s defense minister, Li Shangfu, on Tuesday.”This is the Kissinger from the history books?” read one post on China micro-blogging site Weibo.
People on China’s Twitter-like Weibo are shocked that the 100-year-old Henry Kissinger still has the stamina to go on international business trips.
“Kissinger is 100 years old but is still able to fly to Beijing for a work trip” became a hit trending topic on Weibo on Wednesday after Kissinger’s surprise visit to Beijing. The former US secretary of state, who turned 100 in May, met China’s defense minister Li Shangfu on Tuesday, per Xinhua, China’s state-run press agency.
Posts on the Kissinger hashtag have been viewed more than 66.4 million times as of press time.
Several Weibo users were surprised that Kissinger is still alive.
“This is the Kissinger from the history books?” read one user’s Weibo post.
“Turns out he’s still alive. I thought he was dead because people in the history books basically are,” wrote another Weibo user.
Others marveled at Kissinger’s stamina at 100.
“He’s 100 years old, but he can still do long-haul flights,” said another Weibo user.
“He may be old, but he’s still vigorous. Most people at 100 would have trouble eating by themselves,” wrote one Weibo user.
Kissinger played a key role in improving US-China relations in the 1970s. Kissinger’s surprise visit to Beijing on Tuesday took place, once again, against a backdrop of heightened tensions and fraught US-China relations.
Representatives for Kissinger did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.