Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State, whom Xi hailed as an "old friend" to the Chinese people for his significant role in brokering the two countries' rapprochement over five decades ago.

"China and the United States can help each other succeed and prosper together," Xi told the now 100-year-old former U.S. diplomat, while also reiterating China's bottom-line of "three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation."

"China is ready, on this basis, to explore with the United States the right way for the two countries to get along and take their relations steadily forward," Xi said at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Diaoyutai, located west of the capital, is the diplomatic complex where Kissinger was received during his first visit to China in 1971.

Kissinger was the first high-ranking U.S. official to visit China, a year before then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's ice-breaking trip to Beijing. Xi said Nixon's trip "made the right decision for China-U.S. cooperation," where the former U.S. leader met with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. The two countries established diplomatic relations seven years later in 1979.

"The decision delivered benefits to the two countries and changed the world," Xi said, hailing Kissinger's contributions to promoting the growth of China-U.S. relations and enhancing friendship between the two peoples.

The Chinese president also said he hopes Kissinger and other like-minded officials continue to "play a constructive role in restoring China-U.S. relations to the right track."

For his part, Kissinger echoed that the two countries should move their relationship in a positive direction under the principles established by the Shanghai Communiqué and the one-China principle.

U.S.-China relationship is essential to peace and prosperity of the two countries and the wider world, the former American diplomat said, doubling down on his commitment to facilitate mutual understanding between the American and Chinese peoples.

Kissinger has traveled to China more than 100 times.