On September 4， a reception commemorating the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America was held by the CPAFFC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing， with the participation of over 400 distinguished guests from both China and the United States. Attendees included Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao， Former US President Jimmy Carter， China-US People’s Friendship Association President Xu Kuangdi， State Council Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Minister Qiu Yuanping， CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin and leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， Ministry of Commerce， State Council Taiwan Affairs Office， All-China Women’s Federation and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Students from both countries sang songs of Sino-US friendship.
　　Vice President Li Yuanchao stressed in his speech that historical progress had been made in bilateral relations over the 35 years and that it was of vital importance for the two countries to fully implement the consensus reached by the heads of state on building a new model of major country relationship by adhering to the principal of non-confrontation， mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
　　Former President Jimmy Carter said normalization of China-US relations was one of the greatest achievements in his political career， and that developments over the past 35 years had brought about not only tremendous transformations in people’s lives， but also peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region. As a witness to the development of bilateral ties， he was willing to make more efforts to promote friendly US-China relations.