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The message, dated September 30, was published on the State Department’s website at about 9am Beijing time on Wednesday.
“On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of China on the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1,” the brief statement read.
“The United States wishes the people of China health, happiness, prosperity and peace in the year ahead.”
The US State Department has traditionally congratulated China before the country’s National Day, but last year Washington only did so after the date had passed, amid tensions between the two capitals.
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The statement, from then secretary of state Antony Blinken, was posted on the department’s website at 8am Beijing time on Thursday, October 3 that year. But Rubio’s congratulatory letter was even shorter than Blinken’s in 2024.
