President Carter worked to ease tensions with China by

President Carter worked to ease tensions with China by establishing full diplomatic relations with China.

On December 15, 1978, after months of secret talks, the United States and the People’s Republic of China announced that they would recognize each other and establish official diplomatic relations with one another, effective January 1, 1979. In doing so, the United States also acknowledged the government of the People’s Republic of China as the legal government of China, and withdrew its support for the claim that Taiwan (the Republic of China) had continued to make about its legitimacy over against the communist government that had been in place in mainland China since 1949.

Writing for China-US Focus in 2015, Chinese journalist Ma Shikun noted that of all living former US presidents, Jimmy Carter is the most popular among the Chinese people, primarily because of his bold action in formally establishing diplomatic ties during his presidency.