"I think Beijing and Washington will cooperate and really pressure Taipei that if they do not pull back it could look extremely unfavorable," he said. "I believe that we will avoid a crisis in the Taiwan Straits."

Kissinger has met with every generation of the leadership since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and hence is familiar with them. And he believes the present leadership can tackle complicated issues.

"Each generation has its own characteristics. Deng Xiaoping is an enormous figure for his vision and courage in guiding China on the road to market reforms. But every generation of leaders has made some significant contributions," he said.

"This generation is educated in universities and has more technical knowledge than the first generation. It has handled very complicated situations with considerable wisdom and skill."

Kissinger visited China last week at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs. He has visited the country more than 50 times, and is impressed by the tremendous progress it has made, enabling it to navigate the changes in the world.

"I see tremendous vitality in the Chinese people and the people I talked with are also ambitious to study and to do something. I identify China with tremendous capacity to grow, and great opportunities with these people."

His last visit to China was in a totally different scenario compared to his first few trips when there was no diplomatic or trade link between Beijing and Washington. More than three decades after his ice-breaking visit, Kissinger remains proud of what he did to "open" China.

"I consider that the single most important thing I did in government and the one that had the best permanent effect."