Beijing, China on Monday expressed its deepest condolences on the death of Jimmy Carter, saying that the former US president was “the driving force” behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries more than 40 years ago.
Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday at the age of 100. During his tenure in 1977-1981, the US government established formal relations with China, building on the foundation laid by former President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. in the early 1970s.
“China expresses its deepest condolences on the death of former United States President Jimmy Carter,” said Mao Ning, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry.
“Former President Carter was a promoter of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and made important contributions to the development of China-United States relations and friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” Mao said. regular press conference.
The Carter administration's (NYSE: ) decision to acknowledge in the 1979 Beijing Declaration that there is one China and that Taiwan is part of China, and to sever official ties with Taiwan, helped chart a new course of engagement.
“His historic contribution to the improvement of relations and the development of China-US relations will always be remembered by the Chinese people,” Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the United States, wrote in a post on X.
In the same year, 1979, the US government, while adhering to the One-China policy, also passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which establishes the legal basis for providing the island with means of self-defense.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.
US arms sales to Taiwan allowed by the Taiwan Relations Act remain a bone of contention in Sino-US relations to this day, with Beijing often urging Washington to stick to its One-China principle, and to impose sanctions on US military suppliers and corporate executives.
Other agreements signed during Carter's tenure include the US-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) in 1979, a scientific cooperation agreement that some critics say has unfairly benefited Washington's biggest rival in decades.
The deal was renewed this month, weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. The State Department said the new deal is much smaller than the previous one, and does not cover critical or emerging technologies.