Jimmy Carter's presidency, life remembered

Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn attend a photo exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations in Beijing in January 2009. At a White House reception on Jan 29, 1979, to welcome the arrival of then-Chinese vice-premier Deng Xiaoping, Carter said, "Let us pledge together that both the United States and China will exhibit the understanding, patience and persistence which will be needed in order for our new relationship to survive." "I believe it would be a good idea for a similar small group of knowledgeable leaders to be formed to address some of the disputes that now threaten the friendly relations between China and the United States created when Deng Xiaoping and I established diplomatic relations in 1979," Carter noted. Freeman said Carter always retained the "pride in his achievement in normalizing US relations with China … he understood the nature of Chinese concerns". Freeman said that Carter was "really quite remarkable" in the realm of foreign policy, but he disagreed with his "excessive emphasis" on ideology in foreign policy.