<P> President Gerald Ford visited the PRC in 1975 and reaffirmed American interest in normalizing relations with Beijing . Shortly after taking office in 1977 , President Jimmy Carter again reaffirmed the goals of the Shanghai Communiqué . Secretary of State Cyrus Vance , Carter 's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski , and senior staff member of the National Security Council Michel Oksenberg encouraged Carter to seek full diplomatic and trade relations with China . Although Brzezinksi sought to quickly establish a security relationship with Beijing to counter the Soviet Union , Carter sided with Vance in believing that such a deal would threaten existing U.S. - Soviet relations , including the SALT II negotiations . Thus , the administration decided to cautiously pursue political normalization and not military relations . Vance , Brzezinski , and Oksenberg traveled to Beijing in early 1978 to work with Leonard Woodcock , then head of the liaison office , to lay the groundwork to do so . The United States and the People 's Republic of China announced on December 15 , 1978 that the two governments would establish diplomatic relations on January 1 , 1979 . </P>
<P> President Gerald Ford visited the PRC in 1975 and reaffirmed American interest in normalizing relations with Beijing . Shortly after taking office in 1977 , President Jimmy Carter again reaffirmed the goals of the Shanghai Communiqué . Secretary of State Cyrus Vance , Carter 's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski , and senior staff member of the National Security Council Michel Oksenberg encouraged Carter to seek full diplomatic and trade relations with China . Although Brzezinksi sought to quickly establish a security relationship with Beijing to counter the Soviet Union , Carter sided with Vance in believing that such a deal would threaten existing U.S. - Soviet relations , including the SALT II negotiations . Thus , the administration decided to cautiously pursue political normalization and not military relations . Vance , Brzezinski , and Oksenberg traveled to Beijing in early 1978 to work with Leonard Woodcock , then head of the liaison office , to lay the groundwork to do so . The United States and the People 's Republic of China announced on December 15 , 1978 that the two governments would establish diplomatic relations on January 1 , 1979 . </P>
when did the usa formally recognize the people 's republic of china
when did the usa formally recognize the people 's republic of china
January 1 , 1979
January 1 , 1979