Henry Kissinger headed the US Foreign Ministry from 1973 to 1977, from 1969 to 1975 he was an assistant to the president for national security. His merits include, first of all, the policy of detente in relations with the Soviet Union and the "discovery" of China for America, a symbol of which was Nixon's historical visit to the Celestial Empire in 1972. Drawing on his rich experience with Chinese leaders - Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, Kissinger reflects on the impact each of them had on the fate of modern China, and also makes his own predictions about the global balance of political forces in the 21st century.