Beijing:
Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Joe Biden that he was “deeply saddened” by the death at the age of 100 of former US President Jimmy Carter, state media said on Monday.
Carter “had long made important contributions to promoting the development of China-US relations and promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” state broadcaster CCTV reported Xi said in a condolence message to Biden.
Washington's diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China formally launched in January 1979, breaking with the Nationalist government in Taiwan, which had been a staunch US ally throughout the Cold War.
“Former US President Jimmy Carter was a promoter and decision-maker in establishing diplomatic relations between China and the US,” Xi said, quoted by CCTV, adding that he was “deeply saddened by his passing.”
Carter normalized relations with Beijing as late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping implemented reforms that led to unprecedented economic growth.
The same year, Deng – often credited with China's “Reform and Opening” policies that led to its economic transformation – met Carter in the United States.
Carter did not visit China during his presidency, but did make trips either side of his time in the White House.
The former president first traveled to China in 1949 as a young naval officer.
He visited the country in 1981 shortly after leaving office, met Deng and then-Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang in Beijing in 1987, and returned to China in 1991.
Carter visited the country again in July 1997, including several days in a small village in eastern Shandong province.
His private visit was at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute for Foreign Affairs, and he was accompanied by his wife Rosalynn and a small delegation.
Monday's CCTV report also said Xi told Biden that the relationship between their two countries was “one of the most important” in the world.
“China is willing to work with the United States… (to) promote the development of healthy, stable China-US relations, making sustained progress on the right path,” CCTV quoted Xi in the message.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)