Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Tuesday in Beijing that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's China trip was of "great significance" and will help the development of common interests between the two countries.

Kissinger made the remarks at China's prestigious Beijing University where he was granted an honorary doctorate.

Abe concluded his visit to China on Monday, which was not only his first foreign trip since he became prime minister, but also the first visit to China by a Japanese prime minister in the past five years.

Kissinger believes Abe's visit to China will facilitate bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Kissinger regards cooperation as the best method of handling state-to-state relations and the promotion of common development.

The 83-year-old foreign policy expert has witnessed meetings between eight U.S. presidents and four generations of Chinese leaders. In the past 35 years, he had visited China more than 40 times and witnessed the tremendous changes in China and the development of U.S.-China ties.

As for the international political situation, he said the world's attention has shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific region.

Many issues in Asia including the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue will impact the future of the world, he said.

Source: Xinhua