US presidents and first ladies who have visited China
Editor's Note:
US President Donald Trump will kick off his first state visit to China on Wednesday, a trip which is expected to yield positive results for bilateral ties. A number of major business deals are due to be signed during the visit, as was the case with his predecessors. With the impending trip, now is a good time to look back at American presidents and first ladies who have come to China to strengthen bonds.
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US President Richard Nixon shares a toast with Premier Zhou Enlai in February 1972 in Beijing during Nixon's official visit to China. [Provided to China Daily] |
Richard Nixon
February 1972
Former US President Richard Nixon made a formal visit to China, with a China-US Joint Communiqué released in Shanghai on Feb 28, 1972. The Joint Communiqué, also called the Shanghai Communiqué, was the first of its kind between the two countries. This historic document laid the foundation for the development of China-US relations. Besides Beijing and Shanghai, Nixon also went to eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou during the epic trip.
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US President Richard Nixon, center, and first lady Pat Nixon visit Beijing's Forbidden City as heavy snow falls on Beijing, Feb 25, 1972. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Richard Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon visit the Great Wall in Beijing on Feb 24, 1972. [Photo/IC] |
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Pat Nixon, wife of US President Richard Nixon, throws pieces of food to pigs in a sty at a Chinese commune in Beijing, Feb 23, 1972. [Photo/IC] |
Gerald R. Ford
December 1975
Former US president Gerald R. Ford visited China from Dec 1 to 5 in 1975. He announced the US would abide by the Sino-US Joint Communiqué, which guaranteed the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations in 1979. During the five-day visit in Beijing, he went to popular tourist attractions, including the Great Wall, Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven.
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US President Gerald R. Ford, right, talks with Chairman Mao Zedong during his visit to China in December 1975. [Photo/IC] |
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Betty Ford, front right, wife of US President Gerald R. Ford, is instructed in a Chinese folk dance at a Beijing dancing school on Dec 3, 1975. [Photo/IC] |
Ronald Reagan
April - May 1984
Former US President Ronald Reagan officially visited China from April 26 to May 1, 1984. He was the first US president to visit China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979. Reagan and his wife Nancy left their footprints in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an.
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US President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy Reagan, visit the Great Wall in Beijing, on April 28, 1984. [Photo/IC] |
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Nancy Reagan, wife of US President Ronald Reagan, helps feed a baby panda during a visit to the Beijing Zoo, April 27, 1984. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy Reagan, are pictured with the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, April 29, 1984. [Photo/IC] |
George H.W. Bush
February 1989
Former US President George H.W. Bush visited China from Feb 25 to 26 in 1989, the second month after he took office. He spent 14 months as director of the US liaison office in China in the mid-1970s.
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Then US vice-president George H. W. Bush, his wife Barbara Bush, and Chinese officials take a special train which departs from Guangzhou for Shenzhen, Oct 13, 1985. [Photo/IC] |
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Barbara Bush, wife of US President George H.W. Bush, laughs as she has tea at Gong Wang Fu in Beijing, Feb 26, 1989. [Photo/IC] |
Bill Clinton
June - July 1998
Former US President Bill Clinton visited China from June 25 to July 3 in 1998. During the nine-day visit, he went to Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong, where he talked with some local Chinese people and saw the great changes brought by China's reform and opening-up policy.
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US President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, get close to the Terracotta Warriors during a tour in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, in June 1998. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, enjoy a stroll along a section of the Great Wall of China, in June 1998. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, take in the view during a visit to Beijing's Forbidden City, on June 28, 1998. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Clinton, his wife Hillary Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, gaze at China's famous scenery along the Li River near Guilin of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on July 2, 1998. [Photo/IC] |
George W. Bush
October 2001, February 2002, November 2005, August 2008
Former US President George W. Bush visited China for four times, respectively in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2008. He paid an official visit to China from Nov 19 to 21 in 2005, during which he held talks with then Chinese President Hu Jintao. The two presidents exchanged views in an in-depth way on China-US relations and regional and international issues of common concern. They agreed to expand common understanding and deepen mutual trust to carry forward in an all-round manner the constructive and cooperative relations between the two countries in the 21st century.
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US President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, take a tour of the Great Wall of China, on Feb 22, 2002. [Photo/IC] |
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Laura Bush, center, wife of US President George W. Bush, tries to make Chinese noodles during a cooking demonstration by chefs at the US Embassy in Beijing, Feb 21, 2002. [Photo/IC] |
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US President George W. Bush attends a training program with Chinese cyclists at a Beijing Olympic base, on Nov 20, 2005. [Photo/VCG] |
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US President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter, Barbara Bush, walk down the steps from Air Force One after arriving in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games, Aug 7, 2008. [Photo/VCG] |
Barack Obama
November 2009, November 2014, September 2016
Former US President Barack Obama paid a formal visit to China from Nov 15 to 18 in 2009. During the visit, he exchanged in-depth views on China-US relations and major international and regional issues with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing. China and the US agreed that regular exchanges between leaders of the two countries are essential to the long-term, sound and steady growth of China-US relations. During his tenure, he visited China in 2014 and 2016 respectively to attend the APEC summit in Beijing and G20 summit in Hangzhou.
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US President Barack Obama tours the Badaling section of the Great Wall in suburban Beijing, Nov 18, 2009. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Barack Obama, center, is escorted by officials as he tours the Forbidden City in Beijing, Nov 17, 2009. [Photo/IC] |
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US President Barack Obama addresses Chinese university students at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in Shanghai, Nov 16, 2009. [Photo/VCG] |
First lady Michelle Obama
March 2014
Former US first lady Michelle Obama arrived in Beijing on March 20, 2014 and started a seven-day visit with her mother and two daughters. The visit highlighted the China-US education cooperation and youth exchanges. She hoped to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
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US first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, Malia, left, and Sasha, right, visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in suburban Beijing, on March 23, 2014. [Photo/IC] |
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Peng Liyuan, left, wife of President Xi Jinping, demonstrates to US first lady Michelle Obama, center, how to hold a writing brush as they visit a Chinese traditional calligraphy class at the Beijing Normal School, a school that prepares students to attend university abroad, in Beijing, March 21, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] |
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US first lady Michelle Obama, second right, practices tai chi during her visit to a high school in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, on March 25, 2014. [Photo by Wang Jing/For China Daily] |
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US first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters take a dragon boat ride on Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace in Beijing, March 22, 2014. [Photo/VCG] |
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