35 Years of China-US Relations

Editors： Wu Jie, Ding Yi, Li Jiayi and Feng Tiejun Designer： Steve Zhao

Editor's Note: Thirty-five years ago, two global giants buried the hatchet to make friend. From intense rivalry to win-win cooperation, the rapport between the world's two largest economies reshaped the world politics and has grown to become the most important bilateral relationship on the global stage.; China and the US established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979, opening a new page in the world history. Thanks to the joint efforts of successive leaders and the peoples of both countries, the China-US ties in the past decades have achieved historic growth despite some ups and downs.; To mark the anniversary, here we present some of the historic moments in the relationship and look at its future prospects.

Timeline:


	The then US President Richard Nixon shakes hand with then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing on on February 21, 1972, when he made an ice-breaking trip to China. Nixon became the first American president to visit China. On February 28, China and the US issued Joint Communique in Shanghai, marking the normalization of the China-US relations and lifting the Cold War shadow that marred the bilateral ties. It turned to be a visit that reshaped the world politics. Then US President Gerald Ford meets with Chairman Mao Zedong when he visited China on December 1, 1975. Ford was the second American president to come to China. This five-day trip consolidated the newly established ties and boosted mutual understanding as China-US relations were stalled by frictions and differences over international issues. On January 1, 1979, China and the US established diplomatic relations. The then Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visited the US from January 28 to February 5, which opened a new era of the China-US relations. During the visit, then US President Jimmy Carter and Deng discussed global and regional security concerns and signed agreements to facilitate diplomatic, scientific and cultural exchanges. "As for our two nations, today is a time of reunion and new beginnings. It's a day of reconciliation, when windows too long closed have been reopened," Carter said of Deng's visit. Then US President George Bush makes a trip to Beijing on February 25, 1989 when he met with Chinese leaders Deng Xiaoping and Premier Li Peng. Then US President Bill Clinton pays a state visit to China in June 1998 when he met with then Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Clinton reiterated "the three nos" principles on Taiwan that the US does not support independence for Taiwan, or "one China, one Taiwan", or "two Chinas", or its membership in any international bodies whose members are sovereign states. Then US President George W. Bush and wife Laura welcome their Chinese counterparts Jiang Zemin and Wang Yeping at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas on October 25, 2002. The two leaders discussed the Taiwan issue and the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Jiang said China seeks a peaceful solution to the issue of the DPRK nuclear program. And Bush said the US side opposes the independence of Taiwan. Then Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on January 18, 2011. Hu said his state visit to the US is aimed at increasing mutual trust, enhancing friendship, deepening cooperation and pushing forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship for the 21st century. Then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping presents the granddaughter of his old friend Sarah Lande with a panda doll in Muscatine, a small city in Iowa on February 15, 2012. Xi reunited with his old friends he made in 1985 when Xi led an agricultural research delegation from China's northern Hebei province to Iowa to learn advanced managerial expertise and stayed with a local family in Muscatine to better understand Iowan farm life. US President Barack Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a no-necktie summit at the Sunnylands, California on June 7, 2013. Obama gave a California redwood bench to Xi when they took a stroll around the retreat. During the summit, both sides vowed to work together to build a new type of relations between major countries.

Xi opens new era for Sino-US relations: Today, no other relationship in the world is as profound and important as the Sino-US relationship. Aware of its significance, the countries have deepened their engagements and expressed interest in taking the relationship to new level. During their summit at the Sunnylands, California in June 2013, and Chinese president Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama agreed to establish a new type of great power relationship between the two countries.; The Xi-Obama meeting made a new blueprint for the future development of the Sino-US relations. After the meeting, China's high-ranking officials paid a series of visits to the US, 【More】

The future prospects of China-US relations

The future prospects of China-US relations: Despite twists and turns, the China-US relationship has grown from estrangement to deepening engagement in past 35 years. The strategic significance and influence of the Sino-US relations on the rest of the world is becoming increasingly obvious. Where is the relationship headed in 2014?; Experts have put forward a principle based on mutual trust and respect: China and the US should make clear their strategic goals to each other, pre-set an ultimate demarcation line and formulate their own foreign policy accordingly so that both of them can follow the rules and exercise self-restraint.【More】

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