Xi Jinping's Speech at the Joint Welcome Banquet of U.S. Friendship Groups (Full Text)
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) --
Bringing together the strength of the people of the two countries to advance the cause of Sino-US friendship
-- Speech at the Joint Welcome Banquet of U.S. Friendship Groups
(San Francisco, November 15, 2023)
President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
It is a great pleasure to meet friends from all walks of life in the United States in San Francisco, share friendship and friendship. My first visit to the United States in 1985 was from San Francisco, and my first impression of the United States came from San Francisco, where I still have a photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge.
First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the National Committee on US-China Relations, the US-China Business Council, the Asia Society, the US Council on Foreign Relations, the American Chamber of Commerce, and other friendly organizations for organizing this event! I would like to extend my sincere greetings to the American friends who have been committed to the development of Sino-US relations for a long time! and I would like to extend my best wishes to the friendly American people!
San Francisco has witnessed a century of exchanges between the Chinese and American peoples. 158 years ago, a large number of Chinese workers came to the United States to build the Pacific Railroad connecting the east and west coasts, and built the oldest Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere in San Francisco. From here, China and the United States have developed $760 billion in bilateral trade and a cumulative two-way investment of more than $260 billion, established 284 pairs of sister provinces, states and cities, and exchanged more than 300 flights per week and more than 5 million passengers per year. This is a magnificent picture painted by nearly a quarter of the world's population.
San Francisco is a testament to the efforts of China and the United States to build a better world. Seventy-eight years ago, after working together to defeat fascism and militarism, China and the United States jointly participated in the sponsorship of the San Francisco Constitutional Convention and promoted the establishment of the United Nations, and China was the first to sign the UN Charter. From here, the post-World War II international order was established, more than 100 countries successively gained national independence, billions of people were finally lifted out of poverty, and the force for world peace, development and progress continued to grow. This is the fruit of the joint efforts of the peoples of all countries and the international community.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
The foundation of China-US relations is laid by the people. During the Second World War, our two countries fought together for peace and justice. General Chennault led American volunteers to the battlefields of China and formed the famous Flying Tigers. Not only did they fight directly against the Japanese invaders, but they also built the Hump route to deliver much-needed supplies to China, on which more than 1,000 Chinese and American crew members died. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in 1942, 16 B-25 bombers of the U.S. Air Force rushed to Japan, due to the lack of fuel, Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle and other pilots abandoned the plane and parachuted in China, and the Chinese military and civilians bravely rescued them, and the Japanese army slaughtered 250,000 Chinese civilians. The Chinese people have not forgotten the Flying Tigers. We built a memorial in Chongqing and invited more than 1,000 Flying Tigers veterans and their families back to China, and I have been in correspondence with some of them. Recently, Flying Tigers veterans, 103-year-old Moyer and 98-year-old McMullen, came to China and climbed the Great Wall, where they were warmly welcomed by the Chinese. The American people have not forgotten the Chinese who desperately rescued American soldiers. There is a Doolittle Operation Memorial Hall in Quzhou, Zhejiang, where the descendants of rescued American soldiers often come to pay their respects to the Chinese who have seen the righteous and courageous deeds. I believe that the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, forged by blood and fire, will be passed down from generation to generation.
The door to Sino-US relations is opened by the people. The two countries were separated for 22 years. It is the trend of the times that brings us to each other, it is the common interests that allow China and the United States to transcend differences, and it is the people's desire that allows the two countries to break the ice. In 1971, the U.S. table tennis delegation came to Beijing, and the small ball turned the big ball. Shortly thereafter, the first delegation of U.S. congressmen led by Mr. Mansfield came, the first delegation of U.S. governors, including Iowa Governor Robert Wray, and many business people also came, setting off a wave of friendly exchanges between China and the United States. As the world emerged from the pandemic, I met with Dr. Kissinger, Mr. Bill Gates, Mr. Schumer and several other senators, as well as Governor Newsom, in Beijing. I told them that the hope of China-US relations lies in the people, the foundation lies in the people, the future lies in the youth, and the vitality lies in the localities. I welcome more US governors and congressmen to visit China, and welcome people from all walks of life in the United States to visit China.
The story of U.S.-China relations is written by the people. When I first visited the United States, I stayed at the Dvocek couple home in Iowa, and I remember that the house number was 2911 Bonney Street. This was my first face-to-face encounter with the American people, and it was an unforgettable experience of living with the American people. To me, they are America. I have also found that although the two countries have different histories, cultures, social systems, and development paths, the people of the two countries are kind, friendly, hardworking, and practical, and both love the motherland, family, and life, and both have a good impression and interest in each other. It is precisely the trickle-down confluence of goodwill and friendship that has made the vast Pacific Ocean no longer a moat, and it is precisely the two-way rush of the people that has brought Sino-US relations back to the right path from the trough time and time again. I believe that once the door of China-US relations is opened, it will not be closed again. Once the cause of friendship between the two peoples is initiated, they will not give up halfway. The tree of people's friendship has grown and will surely withstand the wind and rain.
The future of U.S.-China relations is created by the people. The more difficult times are, the more necessary it is to tighten the ties between the people and enhance people-to-people communication, and the more people need to stand up and cheer for China-US relations. We need to build more bridges and roads for people-to-people exchanges, instead of erecting obstacles and creating a "chilling effect". President Biden and I reached an important consensus today that the two countries will introduce more measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges and promote people-to-people exchanges, including increasing direct passenger flights between China and the United States, hosting high-level tourism dialogues between China and the United States, and optimizing the visa application process. We look forward to more people-to-people exchanges, more exchanges, and more exchanges between the two peoples, and to jointly continue to write the story of friendship between the two peoples in the new era! I also look forward to California and San Francisco continuing to lead the way on the journey of China-US friendship!
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
We are in an era full of challenges and changes, but also in an era full of hope. The future of the world requires U.S.-China cooperation. As the world's largest developing and developed countries, China and the United States should deal with each other well. In the face of a chaotic world, China and the United States need to be broad-minded, show the pattern of major powers, take on the responsibilities of major countries, and play the role of major countries.
I have been pondering how to make the giant ship of Sino-US relations avoid reefs and shoals, sail through strong winds and waves, and not deviate, stall, or collide? The first thing to answer is whether China and the United States are adversaries or partners. This is a fundamental and general problem. The simple reason is that if we see the other side as the main competitor, the most significant geopolitical challenge, and the looming threat, it will inevitably lead to the wrong policies, the wrong actions, and the wrong results. China is willing to be a partner and friend with the United States. The fundamental principles for handling China-US relations are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.
Mutual respect is the basic etiquette for dealing with people, and it is also the minimum norm for China and the United States to get along. The United States has a unique history, culture and geographical location, which has shaped its own development path and social system, which we fully respect. We are equally proud that the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been guided by the theory of scientific socialism and rooted in the Chinese civilization that has lasted for more than 5,000 years. The two paths are different, but they are both people's choices, both lead to the common values of all mankind, and both should be respected.
Peaceful coexistence is the basic norm of international relations, and it is also the bottom line that China and the United States must uphold. It is a mistake to regard China as a threat and to engage in a zero-sum game in which you lose and I win, and you rise and fall. China has never gambled on the United States to lose, never interfered in the internal affairs of the United States, and has no intention of challenging or replacing the United States. In the same way, the United States should not bet on China to lose, not to interfere in China's internal affairs, but to welcome a peaceful, stable, and prosperous China.
Win-win cooperation is the trend of the times, and it is also the background color of China-US relations. China is committed to high-quality development, and the United States is also focusing on revitalizing the economy. China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative have always been open to all countries, including the United States. China is also willing to participate in the multilateral cooperation initiative put forward by the United States. This morning, President Biden and I agreed to promote dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of diplomacy, economy and trade, people-to-people and cultural affairs, education, science and technology, agriculture, military, law enforcement, artificial intelligence, etc., in the spirit of mutual respect, so as to make the list of cooperation longer and the cake of cooperation bigger. I would like to tell you that China deeply sympathizes with the harm that fentanyl has done to the American people, especially young people, and President Biden and I have agreed to establish an anti-drug task force to further cooperate and assist the United States in tackling drug abuse. I would like to announce that in order to expand exchanges between the Chinese and American peoples, especially the younger generation, China is willing to invite 50,000 American youths to China for exchange and study in the next five years.
Not long ago, three giant pandas from the National Zoo in Washington returned to China. I've heard that many Americans, especially children, are reluctant to go to the zoo to see them off. I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and the people of California are eagerly awaiting the return of giant pandas to California. The giant panda is the messenger of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. We are willing to continue to cooperate with the United States in giant panda conservation, strive to meet the aspirations of the people of California, and enhance the friendly feelings between the two peoples.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
China is the largest developing country in the world. Working better, living better, and growing up better are the earnest aspirations of more than 1.4 billion Chinese. The Communist Party of China is for the people, and the people's yearning for a better life is our goal of struggle and the hearts of the people that must be kept. After a century of exploration and continuous struggle, we have found a development path suitable for ourselves, and are comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization.
We are committed to working together to enable all Chinese people to move towards modernization together. A large population is China's basic national condition. No matter how big an achievement is, dividing it by 1.4 billion will become small, and no matter how small a problem is multiplied by 1.4 billion, it will become very large, and this is the big difficulty. At the same time, big also has big advantages. The leadership of the Communist Party of China, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and the support of the broad masses of the people are our greatest strengths. China is a super-large economy and has formed a super-large market. Not long ago, we successfully held the 6th China International Import Expo, attracting more than 3,400 companies from 128 countries, including the United States, and the United States has the largest exhibition area for six consecutive years. The more than 1.4 billion Chinese people are moving towards modernization, which is a huge opportunity that China has brought to the world.
We are committed to common prosperity and let every Chinese live a better life. Getting rid of poverty is the millennium dream of the Chinese nation. Common prosperity is the common aspiration of the Chinese people. When I was less than 16 years old, I lived and worked with farmers in a small village in northern Shaanxi, and I knew what the people were worried about and hoped for. From then to now, half a century has passed, and I feel grounded among the people, and I have strength to be with the people. I will live up to the people without me, this is my lifelong belief. When I first became General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China, there were 100 million people living below the United Nations standard poverty line. After eight years of hard work, all these poor people have been lifted out of poverty, achieving the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, and more than 1,800 CPC members have sacrificed their lives in poverty alleviation.
Our goal is not the prosperity of a few, but the prosperity of all people. Employment, education, medical care, childcare, elderly care, housing, and the environment, these people's daily affairs, intimate things, and specific things are constantly integrated into the top-level design of China's national development, and continue to become people's sense of gain, happiness, and security. We will continue to promote high-quality development and bring the fruits of modernization to the benefit of all people. This is the original aspiration and mission of the Communist Party of China, and our commitment to the people, which will be realized with the support of the people.
We are committed to holistic development so that people are equally rich in the material and spiritual worlds. The Chinese have long understood that "food and clothing are sufficient to know honor and disgrace". Material poverty is not socialism, and spiritual poverty is not socialism. One of the important goals of Chinese modernization is to continuously improve the country's economic strength and people's living standards, constantly enrich the people's spiritual world, improve the level of civilization of the whole society, and promote the all-round development of the people. I put forward the Global Civilization Initiative to urge the international community to solve the problem of material and spiritual imbalance and jointly promote the continuous progress of human civilization.
We are committed to sustainable development, so that people and nature can live in harmony. "The unity of man and nature" and "Taoism and nature" are important concepts of excellent traditional Chinese culture. We are in the same global village, and we may not be able to find another planet for humanity to live on in our lifetime. There is also a saying in English: "The earth is not inherited from our ancestors, but borrowed from our children and grandchildren." "In 2002, when I was governor of Fujian, I proposed that Fujian should be built into China's first ecological province. After working in Zhejiang, in 2005 I proposed that "lucid waters and lush mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains", which has now become the consensus of the Chinese people. At present, nearly half of the world's installed photovoltaic power generation capacity is in China, more than half of the world's new energy vehicles are driven in China, and a quarter of the world's new green area comes from China. We strive to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. We do what we say.
We are committed to peaceful development and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The Chinese civilization inherits the concept of peace, harmony and harmony, and China does not have the gene of foreign aggression and expansion. The Chinese people are deeply impressed by the turmoil and suffering they have suffered since modern times. I have often said that what the Chinese people oppose is war, what they want is stability, and what they hope for is peace in the world. The realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is inseparable from a peaceful and stable international environment. We will never follow the old path of modernizing through war, colonization, plunder, coercion, etc.
In the more than 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has not taken the initiative to provoke any wars or conflicts, nor has it invaded an inch of land of other countries. China is a beneficiary and defender of the current international order. We will firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. No matter where we go in the future, we will never seek hegemony, expansion, imposition on others, seek a sphere of influence, and never fight a cold war or a hot war with any country. China will adhere to dialogue rather than confrontation and partnership rather than alliance, and continue to pursue an opening-up strategy based on win-win cooperation. China is not pursuing modernization alone, but is willing to work with other countries to achieve world modernization featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
The long river of history washes away the sand, and the final precipitation is always the most valuable thing. No matter how the situation changes, the historical logic of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change, the fundamental desire of the two peoples for exchanges and cooperation will not change, and the general expectations of the people of the world for the stable development of China-US relations will not change. In order to succeed in any great cause, it must find its foundation from the people, gather strength from the people, and accomplish it jointly by the people. Sino-US friendship is such a great cause. Let us pool the strength of the two peoples, renew the friendship between China and the United States, advance China-US relations, and strive to make greater contributions to world peace and development.
