Carter: Formalizing US-China ties my 'crowning achievement'

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-15 19:53

WUHAN - Former US President Jimmy Carter said here Thursday that the crowning achievement of his life was the formal establishment of Sino-US relations by his administration 30 years ago.

Carter made the comment while visiting central China's Hubei Province. The former US president is in China for activities to mark the forging of diplomatic ties between China and the United States.

During a meeting with Hubei Provincial Communist Party chief Luo Qingquan, Carter reviewed the establishment of ties between the two countries as well as the US visit of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979.

Carter said he believed that the establishment of diplomatic relations and China's reform and opening-up policy had a strong influence on China's rapid development.

He said he was glad to have met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, and their talks reminded him of the tremendous changes in China over the past 30 years.

Carter and Luo also discussed economic cooperation between Hubei and the United States.

Carter then flew to Shanghai, the third leg of his China visit.