The U.S. will have to reach an understanding with China on a new global order or the world will risk conflicts, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said at a recent online event hosted by the London-based think tank Chatham House.

"If we don't get to that point and if we don't get to an understanding with China on that point then we will be in a pre-World War One-type situation in Europe, in which there are perennial conflicts that get solved on an immediate basis but one of them gets out of control at some point," he said.

Kissinger, now 97, paved the way for President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. He was regarded as a valued go-between for the two countries and has been devoted to the promotion of China-U.S. relations. 

He warned that the high-tech weaponry on both sides could lead to a very grave conflict. "A conflict between countries possessing high technology with weapons that can target themselves and that can start the conflict by themselves without some agreement of some kind of restraint cannot end well," the former U.S. diplomat said.

Amid tensions between the two countries, Kissinger had called for improvements in the bilateral relations. Speaking to the China Development Forum earlier this month via a recorded speech, Kissinger said the two countries, with different cultures and different histories, sometimes have a different view of practices.

Yet the peace and prosperity of the world depend on an understanding between the two societies, he noted. And modern technology, global communications and the global economy require that the two countries begin more intensive efforts to work together, according to Kissinger.