1982年5月5日至9日，美国副总统乔治·布什访华。他是在中美两国就美售台武器进行的正式会谈和非正式磋商都陷入僵局的背景下来访的。5日，中共中央副主席邓小平在与布什副总统会见时指出：美国向台湾卖武器问题，是中美关系中的一个阴影，而且今天来说是一个潜伏的危机。如果两国关系中的这个疙瘩能够解开，将对全球战略很有利。布什访华两个月后，美驻华大使恒安石向中方提交了美方解决美国售台武器问题的联合公报草案。双方经过谈判，达成协议。8月17日，两国发表了旨在解决美国售台武器问题的《中华人民共和国和美利坚合众国联合公报》（又称《八·一七公报》）。中美关系进入新的发展时期。

　　From May 5-9, 1982, George Bush, Vice-President of the United States, visited China. He came on this visit against the backdrop that both the official talks and un-official consultations between China and the United States over the sale of American arms to Taiwan were locked in stalemate. On May 5, while meeting Vice-President Bush, Deng Xiaoping. Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointed out that the issue of selling arms to Taiwan by the United States had cast a shadow over the Sino-US relations and become by that time a potential crisis. He further pointed out that if this knot in the relations between the two countries could be undone, the global strategy would benefit. Two months later after Bush's visit to China, American Ambassador to China Arthur W.Hummel, Jr submitted to the Chinese side the draft joint communique on the settlement of the issue of selling arms to Taiwan by the United States drawn up by the American side. After negotiations, both sides reached agreement. On August 17, the two countries issued The Joint Communique of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America (also known as the "August 17 Communique"),aiming to settle the issue of selling arms to Taiwan by the United States. The Sino-US relations entered a new period of development.