INTRO:
ALT: Close-up on Deng and Carter (AP Images)
President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a historic breakthrough in 1971 that ultimately led to full diplomatic relations with China. The culmination of years of negotiations and effective political will led to the full normalization of relations on January 1, 1979. President Jimmy Carter announced the final breakthrough in normalization on December 15, 1978, in Washington.
SLIDE 1:
ALT: Close-up on Nixon and Mao (AP Images)
President Richard Nixon, left, shakes hands with Chinese communist party leader Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-Tung), right, during Nixon’s groundbreaking trip to China on February 21, 1972, that eventually led to full diplomatic relations between the two countries and a significant change in global relations during the Cold War.
SLIDE 2:
ALT: Table tennis game in crowded auditorium (AP Images)
Table tennis had as much to do with the opening of relations between the United States and China as secret negotiations and diplomatic receptions. Here China’s Li Fu-Yeng, left, returns the ball to U.S. team member Fuarnado Roberts during a series of goodwill matches at Nassau Coliseum in New York on April 21, 1972.
SLIDE 3:
ALT: Close-up on Deng and Carter (AP Images)
Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, left, and President Carter face the press in the Oval Office at the White House in January 1979 to discuss the new diplomatic ties between the United States and China.
SLIDE 4:
ALT: Deng in rover surrounded by crowd (AP Images)
Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, center, sits in a model of the lunar rover vehicle during a tour of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, February 2, 1979. His visit to the United States coincided with the normalization of relations between Washington and Beijing.
SLIDE 5:
ALT: Reagan seated next to worker (AP Images)
President Ronald Reagan, left, points to a printed circuit board that he soldered during a tour of the Foxboro Plant in Shanghai, China, on April 30, 1984. At right is a Chinese worker at the plant.
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ALT: Close-up on Carter and Deng (AP Images)
Former President Carter and China’s top leader, Deng Xiaoping, embrace during their meeting in Beijing on June 29, 1987, during Carter’s private visit to China.
SLIDE 7:
ALT: Bush rising above car and waving (AP Images)
President George H.W. Bush, center, waves to the crowds in Tiananmen Square on February 25, 1989. Behind Bush is the entrance to the Forbidden City that had been home to China’s final emperors. Bush was the U.S. envoy to China earlier in his career.
SLIDE 8:
ALT: Carter with group of children (AP Images)
Former President Carter, upper left, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, rear middle, attempt to organize a group photo with some Chinese student performers during a visit in 1991 to the Beijing No. 1 Deaf-Mute School.
SLIDE 9:
ALT: Jiang and Clinton at podiums (AP Images)
President Clinton, right, gestures during a joint news conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Washington on October 29, 1997. Clinton and Jiang carried on a spirited debate about freedom, democracy, dissent and the freedom to worship during the press conference.
SLIDE 10:
ALT: Bush and Hu shake hands (AP Images)
President George W. Bush, left, meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao on November 20, 2005, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Bush was on a state visit to promote freedom and democracy, but also to discuss pressing economic issues between the two nations.
SLIDE 11:
ALT: Clinton and Hu seated and talking (AP Images)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, consults with Chinese President Hu Jintao on February 21, 2009, during her four-nation visit to East Asia. Clinton and Hu discussed ways to stabilize the global economy, climate change and efforts to enhance security in Northeast Asia.
SLIDE 12:
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ALT: Dai Bingguo and Hillary Rodham Clinton shaking hands outside State Department (AP Images)
In April 2009, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao established the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. These new, high-level talks were designed to address the challenges and opportunities both countries face on myriad issues.
Secretary of State Clinton welcomed Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo to the first meeting in Washington of the new dialogue on July 27, 2009. “We came here in a spirit of mutual respect, treating each other as equals,” Dai said.
Learn more: “Facts About the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue”
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ALT: President Obama greeting large group of students (AP Images)
President Obama greets Chinese students who participated in a question-and-answer forum at the Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology on November 16, 2009.
The United States welcomes China “as a strong and prosperous and successful member of the community of nations — a China that draws on the rights, strengths and creativity of individual Chinese like you,” Obama said.
Learn more: “President Obama at Town Hall Meeting in Shanghai”
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ALT: Close-up of U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama (AP Images)
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome China’s President Hu Jintao to the North Portico of the White House in Washington on January 19, 2011, for the state dinner honoring China.
When the two presidents exchanged toasts that evening, Obama recalled the long history of trade between China and the United States, saying, “Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans have helped to build America, including many who join here tonight.” For his part, Hu toasted “stronger friendship between the people of China and the United States” and “the steady growth of China-U.S. relations.”
Learn more: “Remarks by President Obama, Chinese President Hu at State Dinner”
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ALT: Gary Locke shaking hands with Chinese villagers (AP Images)
U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, center, a former governor of Washington state, shakes hands with his relatives and other villagers during his visit to his ancestral hometown, Jilong village, in Taishan, Guangdong province, southern China, on November 4, 2011.
Locke says China and the United States should work together more to tackle global problems and he will try to promote greater understanding between the two nations.
Learn more: “Secretary Clinton Swears In Gary Locke as Ambassador to China”