U.S. President Richard Nixon had promised during his visit to China that if he were re-elected in 1972, he would complete the normalization of ties with China. 

But that promise was never realized by Nixon or his successor Gerald Ford. 

In 1975, the Vietnam War ended. 

In 1976, China's first generation of leaders, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai passed away.

Both countries were focusing on domestic affairs. 

It was not until December 1978 that the two sides jointly released their Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. In this document, the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter acknowledged three principles established in the Shanghai Communiqué six years earlier: 

- A cutting off of diplomatic relations with Taiwan; 
- Withdrawal of armed forces and military facilities from Taiwan; 
- Annulling the treaties signed by the United States and Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek regime. 

Diplomatic ties were officially set up with the People's Republic of China on New Year's Day, 1979. 

Just weeks later, China's Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping visited the U.S. under the formal invitation of President Carter. 

At the welcoming ceremony, the flags of both countries were raised side by side in front of the White House. 

President Carter arranged an honor guard and a 19-gun salute to welcome Deng. 

It was a rare privilege for a visiting non-head-of-state. 

Deng was in the U.S. for nine days. The 74-year-old Chinese leader visited Washington, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle and other major cities. He attended more than 80 diplomatic events, talking to U.S. media about China, the Chinese people, and the newly adopted Reform and Opening-Up policy. 

His approachable personality and plain-spoken diplomatic style won him a lot of fans in the U.S. public and media. 

Deng's visit opened up a new era of not just diplomatic activities, but also exchanges between the two countries. Deng and Carter signed several agreements covering exchanges in science and technology, as well as culture. 

And with Deng's promotion of the new Reform and Opening-Up policy, Western investors also began to take notice of a whole new market, seeing China with fresh eyes. 

This wraps up our Sino-U.S. series for the moment.