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The American president who became a friend of China


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Carter and Deng, seen embracing in 1987 in Beijing, had a close relationship

On a bright January morning in 1979, then US President Jimmy Carter welcomed a historic guest to Washington: Deng Xiaoping, the man who unlocked the Chinese economy.

The first leader of Communist China to visit the United States, Deng had arrived the previous evening, to a snow-burning and welcoming ceremony by the US vice president, secretary of state and their spouses.

It was the beginning of a diplomatic relationship that would change the world forever, setting the stage for China’s economic rise – and later for its rivalry with the US.

Establishing official ties with China was among Carter’s more significant legacies during a turbulent one-term presidency.

Born on Oct. 1, the same date the People’s Republic of China was founded, “he liked to say that fate brought him and China together,” said Yawei Liu, a close friend of Carter’s.

Even after leaving office, he painstakingly cultivated a close relationship with the Chinese people – but this was affected by the cooling of ties between Washington and Beijing.

Yet he remains one of a small group of American statesmen valued by Beijing for helping to lift communist China out of isolation in the 1970s.

Beijing expressed its condolences, calling Carter the “driving force” behind the 1979 accord. But the Chinese internet went much further, calling him “Meirenzong” or the “benevolent American,” giving him a title once reserved for emperors.

Courting Beijing

Carter’s first meeting with China was in 1949, when the country was suffering the last throes of a bloody decades-long civil war.

As a young American naval officer, his submarine unit was sent to Qingdao in eastern China. They were supposed to help the Kuomintang troops defending themselves against the communist siege by Mao Zedong’s army.

Just a few kilometers away behind enemy lines was a Chinese commander named Deng Xiaoping.

When they finally met decades later, it was as the leaders of their respective countries.

Former US President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were the ones who laid the groundwork for the courting of then Mao’s China. With Beijing and Moscow at loggerheads, they sensed an opportunity to pull away a Soviet ally.

But those efforts culminated under Carter — and Deng — who pushed for deeper ties. For months, the US president has been sending confidential negotiators to secret talks with Beijing.

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Deng and Carter sign an agreement during Deng’s visit to the US in January 1979, after establishing formal ties

A shift occurred at the end of 1978. In mid-December, the two countries announced that they would “recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations from January 1, 1979.”

The world was surprised and Beijing was elated, but the island of Taiwan, which had long relied on American support against Chinese demands, was crushed. Carter is still a controversial figure there.

Previously, the US recognized only the government of Taiwan, which China viewed as a renegade province. For years, US support for Taiwan has been a point of contention in negotiations.

Shifting recognition to Beijing meant that the US finally recognized China’s position that there is only one Chinese government – and that in Beijing. This is it one China policywhich to this day forms the cornerstone of American-Chinese relations.

But the U-turn has raised the inevitable questions about the US’s commitment to its allies. Dissatisfied with Carter’s decision, Congress eventually forced legislation codifying its right to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, creating a lasting contradiction in US foreign policy.

Still, historians agree that 1979 heralded a remarkable series of moves that shifted global power: not only did it unite the US and China against the Soviet Union, but it also paved the way for peace and rapid economic growth in East Asia.

A ‘unique’ friendship

But Carter could not have done this without his special relationship with Deng Xiaoping. “It is a pleasure to negotiate with him,” Carter wrote in his diary after spending a day with Deng during his visit in January, according to Deng’s biographer Ezra Vogel.

“The two followed common sense, in fact there were significant similarities in their no-nonsense personalities,” said Dali Yang, a political science professor at the University of Chicago. “There was something really unique between the two men that really established trust.”

Deng Xiaoping survived three political purges under Mao to become one of China’s most consistent leaders. Historians have largely credited his vision, self-confidence, candor and shrewdness for this key diplomatic victory.

He sensed the opportunity Carter offered, Vogel writes—to thwart Soviet power and initiate the modernization that had begun in Japan, Taiwan, and even South Korea. He knew he would avoid China without US help.

Deng’s visit to the US began with a warm first meeting at the White House, where he laughed while revealing his relationship with Qingdao to Carter, according to Chinese reports. He was beaming as the two shook hands in front of cameras in the Rose Garden, saying: “Now the peoples of our two countries are shaking hands.”

Over the next few days, Deng mounted a whirlwind charm offensive on Americans as he toured several states with Carter. In one famous picture, Deng can be seen grinning while donning a cowboy hat at a Texas rodeo. “Deng Shuns Politics, Goes Texan,” read a headline in a local newspaper.

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Deng had a wonderful time trying on a cowboy hat at a rodeo in Texas

Carter described Deng as “smart, tough, intelligent, sincere, brave, personable, confident, friendly,” according to Vogel.

He later wrote in his diary that the trip was “one of the wonderful experiences of my presidency…everything went well for me, and the Chinese leader seemed equally pleased.”

“Carter was really the catalyst for something that was more than a diplomatic rapprochement — it was a dramatic signaling moment,” said Orville Schell, director of the Asia Society’s Center on US-China Relations who, as a journalist in 1979, covered Deng’s trip.

“He introduced Deng to the country and indeed to the world. That’s what made what was a contentious relationship something very relatable. The way Carter and Deng communicated, those were signals that it was okay for both nations to put history aside and start new relationship.”

Under Carter, China received “most favored nation” trade status, boosting its economy and creating jobs. Within a year, two-way trade between the two countries doubled.

Over the next decade, China became an important trading partner not only for the US but also for the world, which was “extremely important” for China’s growth, noted Prof. Yang.

A relationship for life

Carter’s relationship with China lasted long after his presidency ended.

In the 1990s, his non-profit group, The Carter Center, played a significant role in China’s fledgling democracy, observing rural elections, training officials and educating voters at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Unusually for a former US president, Carter returned to China several times for personal visits. On one trip, he and his wife, Rosalynn, helped build a shelter for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

His commitment to humanitarian work, his humble origins as the son of a peanut farmer and his “people’s style” – which contrasted with the formal public personas of Chinese leaders – endeared him to many Chinese, according to Professor Yang: “He will be seen as a model leader who steady, not only in rhetoric but also in actions.”

“Wherever he traveled in China, people showed their warm feelings towards him… The Chinese people loved him very much because of his courage and honesty,” said Dr. Liu, senior adviser to the Carter Center. He accompanied Carter on several trips, including a 2014 tour where he was honored by local officials and universities.

In Qingdao, the city organized a surprise fireworks display for his 90th birthday. In Beijing, Deng’s daughter hosted a banquet and presented a gift – a copy of the front page of the People’s Daily press release from 1979. “Both were moved to tears,” recalled Dr. Liu.

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The Carters in Sichuan province, where they volunteered to build homes for those affected by the earthquake

It was to be his last visit. As US-China relations grew more precarious, so did Carter’s ties to the Chinese leadership, especially after Xi Jinping took power.

Ahead of his 2014 visit, top government officials instructed universities not to sponsor his events, leading to a last-minute scramble to change the venue, Carter noted.

A state dinner held for him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing was poorly attended, Mr. Schell recalled. Notably, he was hosted by then-Vice President Li Yuanchao, while Xi reportedly hosted another dignitary elsewhere in the compound.

“He wouldn’t even come to tip his hat to Carter. That really showed the state of the relationship,” Mr. Schell said. “Carter was really, really angry. Two of his aides told me he even wanted to leave early because he felt disrespected.”

The Carter Center’s activities in China were eventually curtailed, and the website they maintained to document the village elections was taken down. No clear explanation was given at the time, but dr. Liu attributed this to China’s growing suspicion of foreign organizations after the 2010 Arab Spring.

Although Carter has said little publicly about the reprimand, it would be felt no less harshly, given how long he has championed the engagement.

It also raised questions about whether his human rights approach with China – he characterized it as “forbearance” but others criticized as soft-pedaling – was ultimately justified.

Carter often “went to great lengths … not to stick his fingers in China’s eye on human rights issues,” Mr. Schell noted. “Even when he wasn’t in the office, he was angry because the Carter Center had a real stake in the country.”

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Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang toasts with Carter and former first lady Rosalyn Carter in Beijing in 1987.

Some see his decision to engage in Communist China as born of American sincerity at the time. After the violent chaos of the Cultural Revolution, there was “disbelief among many Americans—how could the Chinese live in furious isolation?” Professor Yang said. “There was a genuine desire among American leaders to really help.”

Others say that in trying to bolster support against the Soviets, the US set the course for China’s rise and ultimately created one of its greatest rivals.

But these actions also benefited millions of Chinese, helping them lift themselves out of poverty and – for a time – expanding political freedoms at the local level.

“I think all of us of that generation were children of engagement,” Mr. Schell said. “We hoped that Carter would find a formula that would slowly bring China into a comfortable relationship [the] USA and the rest of the world.”

Towards the end of his life, Carter became increasingly concerned about the growing mistrust between the US and China, and often warned of a possible “modern Cold War”.

“In 1979, Deng Xiaoping and I knew we were advancing the cause of peace. While today’s leaders face a different world, the cause of peace remains just as important,” he wrote on the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations.

“[Leaders] we must embrace our belief that the United States and China must build their future together, for themselves and for humanity as a whole.”



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