BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The following are major events in Sino-U.S. relations from 1971 to 2009.

    From April 10 to 17, 1971, the U.S. Table Tennis Team visited China, the first U.S. sports delegation to visit the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, marking a thaw in Sino-U.S. relations which had been frozen for 22 years. The "Ping Pong diplomacy" paved the way to a visit to Beijing by U.S. President Richard Nixon.

    From Feb. 21 to 28, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon paid an official visit to China, during which the two sides issued the Sino-U.S. Joint Communique in China's Shanghai, known as the Shanghai Communique.

    On May 1, 1973, the liaison offices established by China and the United States in each other's capital started functioning.

    From Dec. 1 to 5, 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford paid a visit to China.

    On Dec. 16, 1978, China and the United State issued a joint communique, announcing the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides as of Jan. 1, 1979.

    On Jan. 1, 1979, China and the United States established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, and on the same day the United States announced the rupture of official ties with Taiwan. The U.S. withdrew all its troops stationed in Taiwan before the end of the year and abrogated the Mutual Defense Treaty signed with Taiwan.

    From Jan. 28 to Feb. 5, 1979, Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping paid an official visit to the United States, the first Chinese leader to visit the country. The two sides signed agreements on scientific, technological and cultural cooperation on Jan. 31.

    On Aug. 17, 1982, the Chinese and U.S. governments issued a joint communique under which the United States promises to gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan and eventually stop selling weapons to Taiwan. (The three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, namely, the Shanghai Communique, the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, and the Sino-U.S. Joint Communique on the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, have set up the guiding principles for the development of Sino-U.S. relations.)

    From April 26 to May 1, 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan paid a state visit to China.

    From July 22 to 31, 1985, Chinese President Li Xiannian paid a state visit to the United States, the first by a Chinese head of state since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

    From Feb. 25 to 26, 1989, U.S. President George Bush paid a working visit to China.

    On Jan. 31, 1992, Chinese Premier Li Peng met with U.S. President George Bush during the summit of the UN Security Council in New York.

    On Nov. 19, 1993, Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with U.S. President Bill Clinton during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) informal leaders' meeting in Seattle. The two leaders met several times on the occasion of the APEC meetings ever since then.

    On May 22, 1995, the U.S. government announced its decision to permit the then Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui to pay a "private visit" to the United States in June of the same year and the Sino-U.S. relations plummeted to its lowest point.

    On Oct. 24, 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton reiterated during his meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in New York that the U.S. government is committed to the principles enshrined in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, that the U.S. acknowledges that there is only one China, Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China.

    From Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, 1997, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to the U.S. at the invitation of U.S. President Bill Clinton. On Oct. 29, the two sides signed a joint China-U.S. statement, in which the U.S. side reiterated that it adheres to its one-China policy and the principles set forth in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques.

    From Jan. 17 to 20, 1998, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen visited China, during which the two sides signed the Agreement between the Ministry of Defense of China and the U.S. Department of Defense on Establishing a Consultation Mechanism to Strengthen Military Maritime Safety.

    On March 14, 1998, the United States declared that it would not raise any resolution condemning China's human rights situation in the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva.

    From June 25 to July 3, 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton paid a state visit to China, During which, Chinese President Jiang Zemin held talks with him and the two sides issued three joint statements concerning South Asia issue, the protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention and the issue of anti-personnel landmines respectively.

    From April 6 to 14, 1999, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji paid an official visit to the United States, during which Zhu and U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a joint declaration on China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

    On May 8, 1999, the U.S.-led NATO attacked the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia with five missiles from different angles, killing three Chinese journalists, injuring over 20 diplomats and damaging the embassy buildings. The Chinese government issued a statement to express its strong indignation over and condemnation of the barbarous acts. The government also lodged the strongest protest. Afterward, the U.S. President Bill Clinton made a public apology to China for the bombing and paid for the property loss.

    On April 1, 2001, a U.S. military surveillance plane collided with a Chinese military plane southeast of China's island province of Hainan, broke the general practice of flight. The Chinese military plane crashed subsequently and the Chinese pilot was killed. After the collision, the U.S. plane intruded into the airspace of China without permission and landed on an airport on China's Hainan Island, infringing upon China's territorial sovereignty. The U.S. side offered its apology on April 11 and China agreed to release the crew members of the U.S. plane on the following day.

    From Feb. 21 to 22, 2002, the U.S. President George W. Bush paid a working visit to China.

    From April 27 to May 3, 2002, Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao paid an official visit to the United States.

    From Oct. 22 to 25, 2002, Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with U.S. President George W. Bush during his working visit to the United States. The two leaders agreed on furthering the constructive and cooperative ties and enhancing top-level strategic dialogues and contacts between the two countries.

    From Dec. 7 to 10, 2003, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid an official visit to the United States, during which Wen proposed five principles on ensuring a sustainable and sound development of Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations. The two sides also agreed to upgrade the level of the China-U.S. Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade.

    On Aug. 1, 2005, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and U.S. Deputy secretary of State Robert Zoellick held the first Sino-U.S. strategic dialogue, which later developed into a regular dialogue mechanism to be held in the two countries in turn.

    From Nov. 19 to 21, 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush visited China, during which the two sides exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern and the U.S. president reiterated that his country supports the one-China policy and is opposed to "Taiwan independence."

    From April 18 to 21, 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a state visit to the United States. Both sides held that China and the United States share broad and important strategic interest. A fine bilateral relations will contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific Region and the world at large.

    On Aug. 10, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao met visiting U.S. president George W. Bush in Beijing, who came to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and other relevant events.