China has expressed its condolences over the death of former US president Jimmy Carter, who established formal diplomatic relations with Beijing and welcomed China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to the White House.
Carter died on Sunday aged 100. He had been in hospice care since February 2023.
“Our founder, former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the Carter Centre said in a social media post about his death. The centre added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace,” Chip Carter, the former president’s son, added in a statement. “The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honouring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”
Tributes poured in from around the world.
“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian,” said US President Joe Biden, who was the first senator to endorse Carter for the presidency in 1976.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” president-elect Donald Trump said, while French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised his tireless fight for peace.