The Chinese government paid tribute to former US President Jimmy Carter and gave its response
On Monday, the Chinese government honored former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away the day before at the age of 100, and praised him for being the “promoter and decision-maker” in the two countries’ diplomatic ties’ foundation.
The Significance of It
On January 1, 1979, during his one-term administration from 1977 to 1981, Carter restored U.S. ties with China. Despite acknowledging Beijing’s assertion that “there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China,” Washington kept up informal ties with the autonomous island, including the delivery of weapons.
Although Taiwan has never been administered by the Chinese Communist Party, China nonetheless considers it to be part of its territory. By holding drills and stationing ships and planes all around the island every day, Beijing has increased its military pressure on Taipei in recent years. Together with Japan and the Philippines, Taiwan is a member of the first island chain strategy, which is a north-south maritime containment plan adopted by the United States to thwart Chinese expansion.
Things You Should Know
According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent his sincere condolences for the loss of Carter, pointing out that the 39th President of the United States had helped to foster the growth of bilateral relations, cordial communication, and collaboration between the two countries.
The “China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties in the world,” Xi said in a message to U.S. President Joe Biden, adding that Beijing is willing to cooperate with Washington to strengthen ties.
Less than a month before Donald Trump is formally sworn in as the next president of the United States, Xi made these comments. Trump has positioned himself as strong on China and appointed Chinahawks to his cabinet. Beijing has cautioned him to exercise caution while handling matters pertaining to Taiwan.
Reactions to Carter’s passing were not quite uniform in Taiwan. The opposition party, the Kuomintang, said that he would be remembered by Taiwanese for his decision to derecognize the Republic of China—Taiwan’s official name—while the Presidential Office sent its deepest sympathies.
Three months after China was formally recognized, on April 10, 1979, Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act into law, requiring the United States to continue to be able to thwart any effort to settle disputes across the Taiwan Strait by non-peaceful methods.
As “wrong, illegal and invalid,” Beijing has criticized the U.S. domestic legislation that provides the legal foundation for military shipments to Taiwan and accused the United States of meddling in Chinese domestic affairs.
What Individuals Are Saying
Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng: “President Carter believed that one of his best life choices was to open up diplomatic ties with China. The Chinese will never forget his historic contribution to the growth and normalization of China-U.S. ties. May his legacy endure and may he rest in peace.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning: “We honor President Carter with great respect. He had a key role in deciding whether or not the United States and China should establish diplomatic relations.
What Follows
Whether the next U.S. government will keep providing Taiwan with military assistance is still up in the air. According to Trump, he would not protect Taiwan from China.
