Carter honored for China relations work

Former president Jimmy Carter was presented a US-China relations statesmanship award by the foundation of former Republican president George H. W. Bush on Wednesday, at an event where participants called for statemenlike wisdom and vision to put right the relationship of the world's top two economies.

In recognition of his "monumental and enduring contributions" to the advancement of US-China relations, the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations presented the inaugural George H. W. Bush Award for Statesmanship in US-China Relations to Carter.

"President Bush and I agreed that the relationship between the United States and China is of utmost importance. I am grateful for his administration's invaluable support of my post-presidential efforts with China," Carter said in a statement.

As he is recovering from a hip injury, his son, Chip Carter, accepted the award on his behalf.

Carter, a Democrat, established Washington's formal diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979.

Congratulating Carter on his "much deserved honor", Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said the China-US friendship transcends partisanship, and a strong, stable consensus for its vitality exists in both countries.

The ambassador called on people to take heed of Carter's example and continue the "good and important" work of building even stronger and more stable relations between China and the US.

Cui noted that there are some "irrational" doubts about China-US relations, with some clamoring for a decoupling of the two countries and even for a new Cold War.

"These attempts are not only questioning that achievements were made over the past four decades, and challenging the very tangible outcomes of cooperation, but they are also putting the future of our relationship and the prospects for global stability and prosperity at a great risk," said the envoy.