中美三个联合公报，即《中美联合公报》（上海公报）、《中美建交联合公报》和《八一七公报》，是中美关系发展的重要基础。

1972年2月，美国总统尼克松应周恩来总理的邀请访华，中美交往的大门重新打开，中美双方于28日在上海发表了《中美联合公报》，标志着中美关系开始走向正常化。1978年12月16日，中美两国发表了《中美建交联合公报》，决定自1979年1月1日起互相承认并建立外交关系。1982年8月17日，中美两国政府就分步骤直到最后彻底解决美国向台湾出售武器问题发表了联合公报，即《八一七公报》。美国方面作出三点承诺：美向台出售的武器在性能与数量上不超过美中建交后近几年供应的水平；美国准备逐步减少对台的武器出售；经过一段时间使这个问题得到最终解决。美国在三个联合公报中均强调坚持一个中国原则，这是中美关系健康发展的政治基础。

Three Sino-US Joint Communiqués

The three Sino-US joint communiqués, namely the 1972 communiqué (the Shanghai communiqué), the 1979 communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the 1982 communiqué, provided a crucial basis for the development of Sino-US relations.

U.S. President Nixon's visit to China in February 1972 at the invitation of Premier Zhou Enlai opened the door for Sino-US reengagement, which culminated in the signing on February 28 in Shanghai of the Sino-US Joint Communiqué, ushering in the process of normalizing Sino-US relations. On December 16, 1978, China and the United States issued the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, announcing both countries' decision to recognize each other and to establish diplomatic relations as of January 1, 1979. Subsequently,on August 17, 1982, a third communiqué was issued focusing on a step-by-step approach with the ultimate aim of resolving the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. The United States declared that its arms sales to Taiwan would not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in the years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intended to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution. In all three communiqués the United States emphasized its acceptance of the "one China" principle, which provideda political basis for the healthy development of Sino-US ties.