China on Monday offered its deep condolences over the death of Jimmy Carter, saying the former U.S. president was the “driving force” behind the establishment of diplomatic ties between both countries more than 40 years ago.
Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday at the age of 100. During his 1977-1981 tenure, the U.S. government established formal relations with China, building on the groundwork laid by former President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger earlier in the 1970s.
“China expresses its deep condolences on the passing of former United States President Jimmy Carter,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry.
“Former President Carter was the driving force behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and made important contributions to the development of China-United States relations and the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” Mao said at a regular news conference.
The decision by Carter’s administration to acknowledge in 1979 Beijing’s position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China, and to sever formal ties with Taiwan, helped chart a new course in ties.
“His historic contribution to the normalisation and development of China-U.S. relations will always be remembered by the Chinese people,” Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, wrote in a post on X.
In the same year, 1979, the U.S. government, while adhering to its One-China policy, also passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which establishes a legal basis to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan allowed by the Taiwan Relations Act remain a point of friction in Sino-U.S. ties to this day, with Beijing regularly urging Washington to adhere to its One-China principle, and laying sanctions on U.S. military suppliers and corporate executives.
Other pacts signed during Carter’s tenure included the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) in 1979, a science cooperation deal that some critics say has disproportionately benefited Washington’s top geopolitical rival over the decades.
The pact was renewed this month, weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The State Department said the new deal is significantly narrower than previous iterations, and does not cover critical or emerging technologies.