‘An old friend’: Former US President Jimmy Carter remembered in China for establishing diplomatic ties
Former US President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, is remembered in China for bringing an end to decades of hostility and establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.
On January 1, 1979, the US and the People’s Republic of China formally established diplomatic ties, opening embassies in the two countries’ respective capitals. At the end of that month, Carter welcomed China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on the South Lawn of the White House – the first visit by a Chinese Communist leader to the US.
“We expect that normalization will help to move us together toward a world of diversity and of peace,” Carter said at the welcoming ceremony. “For too long, our two peoples were cut off from one another. Now we share the prospect of a fresh flow of commerce, ideas, and people, which will benefit both our countries.”
Farsighted Decision
In response, Deng praised Carter’s “farsighted decision” in playing a key role in ending the “period of unpleasantness between us for 30 years.”
Bilateral ties flourished in the following years, from trade and investment to academic and cultural exchanges. One area of engagement Carter facilitated was student exchange. During negotiations for normalizing relations, Deng raised the question of whether Chinese students would be allowed to further their studies in the US.
“When posed with that question, my adviser, Dr. Frank Press, thought it important enough to call me at 3 a.m. in Washington to be sure,” Carter wrote in a letter addressed to the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the US State Department in 2019.
“Deng asked me if China could send 5,000 students, and I answered that China could send 100,000,” Carter wrote.
A “key promoter and decision-maker”
On Monday, Beijing offered its deep condolences over Carter’s death, hailing him a “key promoter and decision-maker” in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and China.
“Over the years, he made significant contributions to the development of China-US relations and the friendship between the two countries, which we highly commend,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular news conference.
Good Old Man
In reports about his death, Chinese state media outlets noted Carter’s legacy on US-China relations. On Chinese social media, many users hailed him the “good old man.”
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