Xi tells Kissinger China wants ‘stable’ progress with US

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping has told former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that Beijing hopes for “stable and sustained” progress in ties with the U.S. following last month’s American presidential election.

Xi said Friday his government is closely watching post-election developments in the U.S., and now is a “key moment” of political transition.

Xi also noted that he’d recently met with President Barack Obama and held a phone conversation with President-elect Donald Trump.

The 93-year-old Kissinger is a regular visitor to China, where he is deeply respected for laying the groundwork for the normalization of diplomatic ties between Beijing and Washington in the 1970s. The Republican Party elder statesman also met with Trump shortly after the Nov. 8 election and was expected to offer his impressions to Chinese leaders.