当地时间12月29日，美国前总统吉米·卡特在佐治亚州普莱恩斯的家中去世，享年100岁，是美国历史上最长寿的总统。他将实现美中关系正常化视为自己的重大成就之一。

Jimmy Carter, the former United States president who regarded normalizing US relations with China as one of his greatest feats, passed away at home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday. He was 100 years old, the longest-lived American president.

46年前，卡特宣读《中美建交公报》， 这段视频在今天再度刷屏。

29日，中国驻美大使谢锋向卡特总统家人表示哀悼。

“卡特总统认为与中国建交是他一生中做出的最正确的决定之一。他对中美关系正常化和发展的历史性贡献将永远被中国人民铭记，”谢锋大使在社交平台X上写道。“愿他安息，愿他的遗产永存。”

Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng sent condolences to Carter's family. "President Carter saw establishing diplomatic relations with China as one of the most correct decisions he had ever made in his life. His historic contribution to the normalization and development of China-US relations will always be remembered by the Chinese people," Xie wrote on X on Sunday. "May he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on."

White House portrait of President Carter taken May 1, 1978. (Credit: Jimmy Carter Library)

在周日的一份声明中，美国总统拜登号召寻找人生目的和意义的人们“向吉米·卡特学习，他是一个有原则、有信仰、谦逊的人。”

In a statement on Sunday, US President Joe Biden called on people in search of purpose and meaning to "study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility."

White House portrait of President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter taken in the Oval Office on May 3, 1979. (Credit: Jimmy Carter Library)

卡特于1977年至1981年出任美国第39任总统，在其任内中美两国正式建立外交关系。他在任期间还促成埃及和以色列签订在中东和平进程中具有重要意义的《戴维营协议》。

Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, during which time the United States formally established diplomatic relations with China. During his tenure, he also facilitated the signing of the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, which was important in the Middle East peace process.

卡特在1949年4月第一次来到中国时，还是一名潜艇军官。他说，从那时起他就对这个国家着迷。

Carter was a submarine officer when he first visited China in April 1949, and he said he had been fascinated with the country ever since.

“我生命中最引人注目的一方面是我与中国的关系。”他在自己的著作《充实的人生：九十岁的反思》（A Full Life：Reflections at Ninety）中写道。“我作为潜艇艇员对中国的早期访问重新激发了我对该地区的兴趣，促使我继续关注中国历史。”

"One of the most compelling facets of my life has been my relationship with China," he wrote in his book A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety. "My interest in the region was rekindled with my early visit as a submariner, and I continued to follow Chinese history."

无论是在担任总统期间还是结束任期之后，他对中美关系的许多见解是富有远见的，他几十年前对一些问题提出的建议直到今天仍然适用。

Carter's insights on relations between Washington and Beijing during and after his presidency have proven visionary, as proposals to address some of the problems he identified decades ago ring true today.

President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter viewing a gift from then vice-premier Deng Xiaoping during a state visit at the White House on January 31, 1979. (Credit: Jimmy Carter Library)

例如，在1979年1月29日在白宫欢迎时任中国副总理邓小平到访的招待会上，卡特说：“让我们共同承诺，美国和中国都将表现出理解、耐心和毅力，这是我们的新关系得以生存所必需的。”

At a White House reception on Jan 29, 1979, to welcome then Chinese vice-premier Deng Xiaoping, Carter said, "Let us pledge together that both the United States and China will exhibit the understanding, patience and persistence which will be needed in order for our new relationship to survive."

他补充说，两国的历史和政治经济制度“大不相同”，但它们不应阻碍两国关系的进展。

他在演讲中说：“让我们承认那些差异，它们不是分裂的根源，而是互惠互利的根源，只要我们对我们的差异不抱任何幻想，我们的多样性就可以增进我们新关系的活力。”他的这些话直至今天仍然适用。

"Let us recognize those differences, not as a source of divisiveness but of mutual benefit, as long as we have no illusions about our differences, our diversity can contribute to the vitality of our new relationship," he said in the speech, which is still relevant today.

Chip Carter, son of former US president Jimmy Carter, speaks at a ceremony at the Carter Center on June 12, 2019, where the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations presented his father the inaugural George H. W. Bush Award for Statesmanship in US-China Relations. [Photo by Zhao Huanxin/China Daily]

2019年在纪念中美建交40周年时，卡特总统撰文表示，“今天的领导人必须以新的远见、勇气和创造力迎接新的挑战和机遇。美中两国需要共同创造未来，不仅为了我们自己，也是为了全人类。”

In celebrating the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship in 2019, Carter wrote that, "Leaders must bring new vision, courage and ingenuity to new challenges and opportunities, but I believe they also must accept our conviction that the United States and China need to build their futures together, for themselves and for humanity at large."

卡特最后一次访问中国是在2014年9月，当时他花了10天时间访问了北京、西安、青岛和上海，会见了一些政商领导人和四所大学的学生。

Carter last visited China in September 2014, when he spent 10 days traveling to Beijing, Xi'an, Qingdao and Shanghai, to meet business and political leaders and students from four universities.

记者：赵焕新