30th Anniversary of U.S.-China Diplomatic Relations
Deputy Secretary Negroponte (Jan. 8): "I first visited China in June of 1972 on a delegation led by Dr. Henry Kissinger at a time when our two countries had lived in political, economic and diplomatic isolation from each other for more than two decades. The changes in our relationship since that time have been truly dramatic. Our two countries have interactions and exchanges across the entire spectrum of human activity on a scale and depth that simply could not have been imagined when we first established diplomatic ties in 1979." Full Text | Deputy Secretary's travel to China

Intimidation of Human Rights Activists in Iran
Spokesman McCormack: "The United States condemns the continued harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. On December 29, Iranian authorities raided her law office and seized computers and confidential files on her clients." Full Text

U.S.-Canada Emergency Management Agreement
Secretary Rice: "[W]e signed an updated U.S.-Canada Memorandum of Agreement on Emergency Management Cooperation. The agreement provides a framewo rk for our two countries to cooperate in planning for and responding to natural and man-made incidents, emergencies, and disasters." Full Text | Fact Sheet

adoption.state.gov
A new website devoted to intercountry adoption, www.adoption.state.gov offers adopting parents, adoption agencies, and others involved in the intercountry adoption process a central resource. More

Country Background Notes
These publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of almost 200 countries and dependencies.