Kissinger: Trump has a unique opportunity

How do you think President-elect Donald Trump is going to change the United States and the world?
 The newly elected president is an extraordinary phenomenon. There has not been a similar type of president ever in our history. He won an election without the support of the other political leaders, and against the Clinton electoral machine. So he has to be taken seriously. Only a major figure could do this. And he owes nothing to any group. So he has an extraordinary opportunity to be a distinguished president.

But maybe there is a chance it could go badly.
Every time there is an opportunity, there is always a possibility that it may not succeed. But I am not looking at that now.

Analysts have said he views international politics as transactional – like a businessman. What do you think?
What he has said is that he wants allies to play a greater role. He wants to be guided by the national interest. My view is that the national interest has to include the national interest of other countries. Otherwise, you will be totally isolated. But how to work out this proportion still needs to be established.

How do you see the relationship between China and the United States developing? 
My position is that [this] relationship is one of the most important in the world because of the economic impact of the two countries, and the potential impact they can have on each other. So I think it is in the interest of the world that China and the United States have a cooperative relationship. On the other hand, this requires that both sides agree to certain principles. But I think working on a cooperative relationship is extremely important.

But at this point it seems Trump is doing things that are provoking China or setting a different tone.
Someone once said to [Singapore’s] Lee Kuan Yew that when two elephants fight, the grass gets trampled. And Lee replied, “Unfortunately, when two elephants make love the grass also gets trampled.” I think a cooperative relationship is important. Because if there is a conflict between China and the United States, then every nation has to make a choice about whether they are on the American side or the Chinese side. And the whole world will be torn by domestic conflicts. So both the United States and China have an obligation to attempt to work out a cooperative relationship and to not force other countries to make a choice between them, which would re-create the European crisis before World War I. That is my basic position, which I have expressed to many audiences. And this is independent of what is going on right now.

After your recent meeting with the Chinese administration, how would you describe their attitude towards Trump?
They indicated a willingness to explore a cooperative approach.

You often say “containment” is not the right policy on China. Would you also say that in regard to Russia?
With China, to deal with them by a primarily military programme is not in the interest of any country. In the case of Russia, to keep them from dominating the Middle East, that is not containment, because they only re-entered it again, so that is an international matter.
I think Ukraine was badly handled when the crisis started. Now my view is that the outcome that one should try to achieve is that Ukraine should not be an outpost of the West against Russia, or an outpost of Russia against the West. Ukraine should be independent and free to conduct its policies, but it should not be a member of a military alliance. It should have economic relations with both the East and West. Of course, its territorial integrity must be respected.
Crimea is a special case because it only became part of the Ukraine relatively recently in 1954. That will probably be treated like East Germany was or like the Baltics were during the Cold War.

How do you think the year 2017 will be remembered?
If the new US administration can manage a relationship with the rest of the world in which the rest of the world believes in its constructive purposes – they don’t have to settle everything – an attitude develops that we have to jointly create a more peaceful and stable order. We now have revolutions going on in so many parts of the world, but if we can get that process started, I think it will be a hopeful year.

What are your thoughts on the US-Japan alliance? Trump has said the Japan-US Security Treaty is unfair and even intimated that Japan may need to acquire nuclear weapons. 
The basic point that Trump is making is a valid one. That point is that things change in the world. Therefore, the allocation of responsibilities should be talked about. Not the commitment, but how under conditions 60 years after the alliance was formed, how one should allocate responsibilities is an important question. That is an important question, but it has nothing to do with the American commitment. It has to do with American resources and Japanese resources.