Taipei, Taiwan —
The passing of former United States President Jimmy Carter was met with mixed reactions in China and Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping praised him for helping to establish diplomatic ties between Beijing and Washington while some in Taiwan remain critical of his decision to sever official ties with the island to this day.
In a message to U.S. President Joe Biden, Xi expressed his “deep condolences” and described Carter as “the driving force behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.”
Former President Carter “made important contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations and the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV cited Xi as saying.
"China-U.S. ties are among the most import bilateral relationships in the world," Xi said, adding that Beijing is willing to work with Washington to advance bilateral relations.
During Carter’s time in office between 1977 and 1981, the U.S. established formal diplomatic relations with China, advancing the groundwork laid by former U.S. President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the 1970s.
In 1979, his administration recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged Beijing’s position that Taiwan is a part of China. He also agreed to sever official ties with Taiwan, charting a new course in what would later become one of the world’s most complicated and consequential relationships.
Much like Xi, many Chinese commentators and internet users praised Carter’s contribution to normalizing U.S.-China relations.
Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of China’s state-run tabloid , said Carter helped to lay the foundation of the “friendly and cooperative relationship” between China and the U.S. by acknowledging China’s position on Taiwan.
While “his starting point is to safeguard the interests of the United States, during his term, China and the United States of America's common interests have been highlighted and highlighted,” on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Other Chinese internet users also characterized Carter as being more friendly to China than other U.S. leaders. “Of all the living former U.S. presidents, he is one of the friendlier to China,” Chinese netizen “Sheng Yuan Ran Dong” from Heilongjiang province .
“He was a good pacifist. He opened the floodgates of history by establishing diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. His good qualities are truly worth highlighting,” Chinese internet user “Abu from the magic forest” from Jiangxi Province .
Lu Chao, the director of Liaoning University’s Institute of American and East Asian Studies, said Carter not only facilitated the establishment of U.S.-China relations, he also maintained very good relations with then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
“Former President Carter made the right choice that was in line with the trend of global development, the fundamental interests of the United States, and the interests of China. It is still praised by Chinese and American people,” he told VOA.
While reactions from China to Carter’s passing were largely positive, perceptions about the former U.S. president’s complicated legacy in Taiwan were mixed. In a short post on social media platform X, Taiwan’s Presidential Office extended “sincere condolences” to Carter’s family and the American people.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), said on X that while Carter will be remembered in Taiwan “for his decision to derecognize the Republic of China” — Taiwan’s official name — they “admire his advocacy worldwide for affordable housing, conflict resolution, refugees, and other causes.”
In contrast to the moderate official response, some Taiwanese internet users criticized the former U.S. president for allowing China to become a major threat to Taiwan.
While “the U.S. is now Taiwan’s strong ally, [Carter and Kissinger] are the ones who made China so difficult to deal with. From the two of them to the Obama era, Washington’s pro-China approach allowed China to build economic growth for decades and that’s the reason why the Chinese Communist Party can keep bullying Taiwan,” Taiwanese internet user Pbtato Hsieh .
After the Carter administration severed ties with Taiwan in 1979, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), later the same year, which allows Washington to maintain close unofficial ties with Taipei while requiring the U.S. to “provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” to “a sufficient self-defense capacity.”