Historic U.S.-China Meeting Recalled at Bible Exhibit Opening

Former president Jimmy Carter delivered the opening address after prayers and hymns, recounting his meeting with then-Vice Premier of China Deng Xiaoping in 1979 at the White House.

ATLANTA – The second China Bible Ministry Exhibition in the United States kicked-off Friday morning in Atlanta with an opening ceremony in the Sanctuary of the Second-Ponce De Leon Baptist Church

Former president Jimmy Carter delivered the opening address after prayers and hymns, recounting his meeting with then-Vice Premier of China Deng Xiaoping in 1979 at the White House.

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Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter at the opening ceremony for the Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, May 19, 2006. Carter delivered the opening address after prayers and hymns, recounting his meeting with then

In January 1979, Carter made three requests to Deng that included Bible printing in China, reopening the Church for worship and accepting foreign missionaries. Deng agreed with the first two requests.

“As early as twenty-seven years ago, Mr. Deng Xiaoping had told Mr. Carter that, I quote, ‘In China, freedom of worship, OK; Bible, OK; foreign missionary, NO,’” recalled Ye Xiaowen, director-general of State Administration for Religious Affairs in China, at Friday’s opening ceremony.

Shortly after Carter’s meeting with Deng, United Bible Societies worked with the China Christian Council and built the Nanjing Amity Printing Press in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Since the 1980s, the Nanjing Amity Printing Press served mainland Chinese Christians as the sole official Bible printing group. In January 2006, it celebrated the printing of a total of 40 million Bibles.

Following Carter’s speech, Ye mentioned in his responding speech how significant the encounter between Carter and Deng was, describing them as the two "pioneers" who re-established ties between the U.S. and China after the Cultural Revolution.

As Carter is based in Atlanta, Ye hopes that the American people in the city will learn more about China through the Bible Exhibition, especially in respects to the development of Christianity.

The Rev. Mei Kangjun, executive assistant secretary of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), expressed gratitude for Carter and testified to the work of God in China through the former president’s historical conversation with Deng at White House.

"At the time of Deng Xiaopeng, it was really difficult. Under the atheist environment of China, Deng attempted to reform and open the country, trying to introduce a completely new concept into China. Jimmy Carter recalled this period of the history of China in his speech. It allowed us to see God’s work in the history of China," Mei said.

The TSPM official further commented on Ye’s speech, which he said showed that "the understanding of the high-ranking Chinese government official towards religion has advanced a lot."

Mei also celebrated the unity of Christians in the Bible, which has overcome all boundaries between nations and cultures.

"Compared to Los Angeles where there are more Chinese, we have rather met more native Americans here. However, we discover that for all kinds of people, their focus is on the Bible,” he said.

“They asked a lot of questions such as the religious freedom in China,” Mei continued. “This exhibition has provided an opportunity for them to understand the real situation of the church in China. Even though they may not be able to see the entire picture, but at least, they have witnessed it here. I am very thankful for that."

Mei confessed that “revealing God’s glory and the Great Commission to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth are very difficult tasks.” However, he said “through uniting in the Bible, God has abundant grace and he is guiding us to run towards the goal through his work," referring to the development of Bible ministry in China witnessed through the Atlanta exhibition.

As part of the Bible belt, Atlanta is not only characterized by the large number of churches, but also the way that Christians understand the Bible there. The city is known for its comparatively conservative stance in the practice of Christian faith. According to Mei, God has opened a new way in this different nation and this different region for them to find out how the gospel can be accepted by more people in the world.