China and the United States celebrated 30 years of diplomatic ties with speeches delivered by leaders from both countries in Beijing on Monday. From The New York Times:
They waxed nostalgic about secret negotiations in Beijing, a cold war alliance against the former Soviet Union, and the first visit to the United States by Deng Xiaoping, the former Chinese leader.
They mentioned some touchy issues, including tensions over Taiwan and Tibet.
But in the end, the American and Chinese leaders who gave speech after speech in Beijing on Monday afternoon chose to focus on China’s stunning economic growth and its place in the world today, and how that might be different had relations between Washington and Beijing taken another course 30 years ago.
“There is no more important diplomatic relationship in the world than the one that has grown between the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America,” said Jimmy Carter, the former American president.
