George H.W. Bush , Beijing’s old friend

Text/CNN Edit/魏永贵 Time:2019-06-21 Hits:6016

Hong Kong (CNN) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has praised George H.W. Bush’s role in helping to improve China-US relations, in a tribute to the former president of the United States who died on Saturday at the age of 94.

In comments made during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Argentina, Xi said that he was "greatly saddened" by the late president’s passing, describing him as "someone who made important contributions to the China-US friendship and relationship during his lifetime."

Xi expressed his sympathies for the Bush family, and asked Trump to convey a message of condolence.Bush is best remembered in China for his time in Beijing as the US’ unofficial ambassador to the country in the mid-1970s. It was an experience that would go on to influence his foreign policy decision making, and help steer US-China relations through several tumultuous decades.