President Xi referred to the veteran politician as one of China's "old friends", harking back to Mr Kissinger's first visit 52 years ago when he was instrumental in bridging the diplomatic gap between Washington and Beijing.

The president wished Mr Kissinger, who turned 100 in May, a "long and healthy life".

His first visit had "great historic meaning" and marked a "turning point" for China-US relations, President Xi told him.

"The Chinese people never forget their old friends and Sino-US relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger."

In 1971, Mr Kissinger became the first high-ranking US official to visit communist China. As secretary of state, his secret meetings paved the way for then US President Richard Nixon to visit the following year.

'At a crossroads'

President Xi pointed out that the two countries were now at a crucial juncture.

"Once again, China and the US are at a crossroads of where to go from here, and once again, both sides need to make a choice."

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is the only other American official to meet with the president in recent weeks.

When they met last month, the Chinese president said the two countries had made "progress and reached agreement" on "some specific issues".

Mr Blinken said the two countries had agreed on the need to stabilise their relationship and that the US would work with China in areas of mutual interest such as food safety.

However, he raised "concerns" about China's "provocative" actions in the Taiwan Strait.

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Mr Kissinger has visited the country more than 100 times and his last trip to the capital was in 2019.

His trip this week was taken "under his own volition" a State Department spokesman said this week.

Mr Kissinger also met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi and Defence Minister Li Shangfu.