TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) thanked the government, Congress, and people of the United States Wednesday (April 10), on the 45^th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

She said the U.S. had continued efforts to deepen mutual cooperation and friendship, while Taiwan would also cooperate to safeguard regional peace and stability, per CNA. Tsai was speaking during a meeting with a delegation from the Project 2049 Institute headed by former Pentagon official Randall Schriver.

The TRA was signed into law on April 10, 1979 after President Jimmy Carter decided to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. The new law allowed the U.S. to continue supplying weapons to Taiwan for its defense, while also resulting in the setting up of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) as Washington’s representative office.

Later Wednesday, President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said the current peaceful situation across the Taiwan Strait benefited the hopes of both Taiwan and the U.S. as well as the interests of the global community, CNA reported.