Atlanta, GA–The Carter Center convened a three-day symposium on Sino-American relations marking the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
The symposium, which takes place Jan. 17-19, includes talks and panel discussions featuring several dozen leading scholars, think-tank experts, and veterans of statecraft.
Former President Carter and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai delivered keynote remarks.The president of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries , Li Xiaolin attended the symposium.
Carter told the symposium that the United States and China can “work together in harmony in many ways”. On global issues, he said African and Latin American leaders “don’t have to choose between the United States and the Chinese governments”.
The symposium comes at a critical time for U.S.-China relations, which in recent months have been marked by increasing tension and an acrimonious trade war.
“The peoples of our two countries and the whole world are looking to us to do more for the shared interests of mankind,” said Ambassador Cui. “It has never been so important for China and the United States to work together.”
The symposium was sponsored by the Kettering Foundation, Fordham University, Emory University, the Institute of American Studies at The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, US Sino Friendship Association, and Royal Business Bank.
Executive Vice President of Royal Business Bank , Simon Pang was invited to be a panelist at the symposium.
On Dec. 15, 1978, then President Carter and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping announced that they would “normalize” diplomatic ties between the two nations on Jan. 1, 1979, laying the foundation for the rapid growth of bilateral relations.
