Thirty years ago, the then US President, Richard Nixon, shook hands with Zhou Enlai, the then Chinese Premier, at the Beijing Capital Airport, and said, "this is a handshake by the Chinese and US leaders across an ocean and a confrontation of 20-odd years, signaling the opening of a new chapter in the Sino-US relationship."
The handshake moment reappears in a pictorial titled "30 Years of Sino-US Relations", which was published in Beijing Wednesday.
A handshake picture of Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush, both in Chinese traditional costumes and smiling before the camera, was chosen as the cover picture of the finely bound book. The picture was taken during the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Shanghai on October 21, 2001.
Compiled by the Information Office of the State Council, the pictorial collects more than 100 pictures, a vivid record of the three historical periods of the Sino-US relations in the past 30 years.
The pictorial contains three chapters, namely "Breaking the Ice", "Formal Establishment of the Diplomatic relations" and "Developing Forward."
In the late 1960s, when great changes took place in the world situation, both governments of China and the United States readjusted their foreign policies. "Breaking the Ice" fell on the solemn hour when Chairman Mao Zedong shook hands with the then US President, Richard Nixon, at Zhongnanhai on February 21, 1972. Seven days later, the two countries issued the Sino-US Joint Communique, marking the opening of the gate for bilateral relations.
While featuring major occasions during the development of the bilateral relations of the two countries in the past 30 years, the pictorial reflects the advancement in the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, science and technology, culture, education and military affairs.
The pictorial was jointly published by the Xiyuan Publishing House and China Intercontinental Press.
(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2002)
