国内英语新闻:Brzezinski "retraces" the Long March, stressing U.S.-China strategic dialogues

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Long March and its legacy had contributed to shaping an extraordinary China, said former U.S. national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, when he called upon the headquarter of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) in Beijing on Monday.

His meeting with senior Chinese military leader Xu Caihou started with the memory of the Long March which set Brzezinski in mind of his trip to retrace the Long March in 1981.

"I learned you had retraced China' s Long March with your family before and your wife is a well-known sculptor," said Xu, who showed Brzezinski around the meeting hall where a set of stone carvings were placed portraying the Chinese Red Army and their epic Long March from 1934 to 1936.

"Currently China's modern construction and its reform cause are another new Long March, and to stick to a peaceful development road is China's long-term and strategic choice," said Xu, CMC Vice Chairman.

Brzezinski, who served under former U.S. President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981, had retraced part of the route of the Long March with his family when visiting China in July of 1981.

After that China tour, he wrote an article for the Life Magazine titled "An American Family Retraces Mao's Long March", in which he said "For the emerging new China, the Long March is more than an epic of almost unmatched heroism. It is the reminder of the spirit of national unity essential to overcome the legacy of backwardness."

Looking around each of the stone carving with great interest, Brzezinski said the "incredible" and "superb" works had reminded him of his China visits over the years, in particular, the trip to review the Long March.

These experience helped me to better understand China and some of its historical events, said the 82-year-old strategist.

The Long March was a famous military maneuver carried out by the Chinese Red Army led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to combat the Kuomintang Regime.

Though many soldiers died on the way of the two-year ordeal, the Red Army finally arrived at Yan'an in western Shaanxi Province after the 25,000-li (12,500-kilometer) trek, where the new headquarters of CPC was later established.

Brzezinski said all these historical events had helped to shape an extraordinary China.

In his two-hour-long meeting with Xu, Brzezinski stressed the United States and China should have all-round strategic dialogues and strengthen coordination and contact, and work for the peace and stability of the world.

Xu agreed the two sides should properly handle bilateral relations and international issues to their mutual benefit instead of as a zero-sum game.

"More than 30 years of China-U.S. relations have proved the two countries can co-exist peacefully and enjoy common development. China's development will expand cooperation between the two countries," Xu added.

Brzezinski is visiting China at the invitation of the Chinese International Institute for Strategic Society.