Chinese embassy sends condolences to Brzezinski's family

Former US National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, speaks at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, March 9, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

The passing of former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has been "a loss for both China and the United States", according to a statement provided by the Chinese embassy in Washington on Saturday.

Condolences were sent to the family of 89-year-old Brzezinski, who died in Virginia on Friday, who the Chinese Embassy labeled as "an accomplished strategist and diplomat, and a long-time friend of the Chinese people."

"He made an important contribution to the forging of diplomatic ties between China and the US, and had been a staunch supporter and active promoter of China-US relations throughout his career," the Embassy stated in the document.

In May 1978, Brzezinski, who was then president Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, paid his first visit to China to lay the groundwork for the normalization of the relationship between Beijing and Washington. The event was one he recalled in 2009, during an interview with Xinhua. At the time, Brzezinski said he "gave it a strategic significance which contributed to greater international stability."

The Chinese Embassy further noted, in the statement, maintaining and developing a healthy and stable China-US relationship was in the interest of both the Chinese and American people, as well as the international community.

"With the joint efforts of both sides, we hope to honor Dr Brzezinski through continued cooperation between China and the United States," the Embassy stated in the document.

The death of Brzezinski was announced by his daughter, Mika Brzezinski, on her Twitter account. It read, "I just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."

In an obituary, the New York Times stated Brzezinski, like his predecessor Henry A. Kissinger, was a foreign-born scholar – he was from Poland and Kissinger was from Germany – with a considerable amount of influence in global affairs, both before and long after his official tour of duty in the White House.

Following the death of the ex-national security adviser, former US President Carter said Brzezinski "was inquisitive, innovative and a natural choice as my national security adviser when I became president."

"He helped me set vital foreign policy goals," he said in the statement.

"He played an essential role in all the key foreign policy events of my administration."

In a tweet, posted on Saturday, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright‏ also said "many knew Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski as a brilliant strategist."

"I knew him as my professor, mentor, and dear friend. I will miss you Zbig," she said.