-Channels for dialogue and communication between China and the United States have been broadening. The two countries have established more than 60 dialogue and consultation mechanisms in six major categories, covering political relations, economy, military-to-military relations, law enforcement, science and technology, education, energy, environmental protection, aviation and so on and so forth. The two sides have launched the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) and the Strategic Dialogue (SD), two creative moves in the development of our relations. During the 4th SED, the two sides exchanged views on the long-term and overarching issues concerning the two economies, and reached broad agreement, including achievements on nearly 200 specific items. We have had five successful rounds of the SD, which has provided a new and important platform for China-US strategic exchanges at the political level.

-Friendship between the peoples of the two countries has been deepening. I want to highlight here that the support the two countries gave to each other during times of natural disasters has greatly strengthened the friendship between the two peoples. In 2005, the Chinese Government promptly offered assistance to the United States when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. And in May this year, the U.S. Government and people from all walks of life provided China with strong support and assistance after the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. Last month, 800 letters written by children in Washington State flew across the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the quake-hit areas in China. In these letters were heart-warming words of comfort, carefully selected pictures, and best wishes written in Chinese by these kids to their young friends in China. I wish to take this opportunity to once again express our heartfelt thanks to the U.S. Government and people.

As many American friends have said, no one would have imagined 30 years or even eight years ago that China-US relations would make so much progress as we are seeing today. Such progress would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of the two governments and the unremitting work of people from various sectors of the two countries, including all of you present today. As witness to the whole long course of the growth of China-US relations, I am heartened to see the progress we have made.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Since the beginning of the new century, the world has undergone extensive and profound changes. With deepening economic globalization and increasing interdependence among nations, the world is becoming a "global village" and the international community is facing rare opportunities for development. On the other hand, uncertainties and destabilizing factors in the international situation have also increased, and traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined. In particular, the issues of financial security, energy security and food security have become more pronounced recently. Mankind is still confronted with many daunting challenges in the efforts to uphold world peace and promote common development.

Against the backdrop of a complex and volatile international situation, China and the United States, as the largest developing country and the largest developed country respectively, face more common challenges and shoulder greater common responsibilities. The foundation and prospect for our cooperation are expanding and our relations are assuming greater global and strategic significance. Our two countries should work hard to deepen cooperation and build an enduring and stable framework for China-US relations in the new century.

First, continue to view and handle China-US relations from a long-term and strategic perspective and maintain their right direction. We should implement the important agreement reached by the two presidents on advancing the constructive and cooperative China-US relations, and adopt a forward-looking and constructive approach to increase converging interests and contain the negative factors so as to keep our relations on the track of constructive cooperation.

Developing relations with China has been the consensus view of successive U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democratic, in the past 30 years. It is a policy that has also gained broad support from the American people of all walks of life. We sincerely hope the government and people of various sectors in the United States will bear in mind the larger and long-term interests and work for the steady growth of China-US relations both in the election year and beyond. Whatever change may occur on the domestic political landscape in the United States, we on our part will remain committed to the fundamental principle of developing constructive and cooperative relations with the US. We will, as always, value China-US relations and spare no effort to ensure the sustainable development of this important bilateral relationship.

Second, judge each other in an objective and sensible way and further enhance strategic mutual trust. The Chinese are a peace-loving nation. We have, since ancient times, believed in the precepts of "be kind to your neighbors" and "harmony of all countries." During the prime of the Ming Dynasty more than 600 years ago, Zheng He, the famous Chinese navigator, led a fleet of more than 20,000 people on seven expeditions to the Western seas and reached more than 30 countries. What he brought to the local people were tea and porcelain, not war or domination. Today, in keeping with the trend of the times and our own fundamental interests, the Chinese Government and people have made the strategic decision to follow a path of peaceful development. We will seek development through continued institutional reform and improvement, hard work, long-term friendship and win-win cooperation on an equal footing with all other countries in the world, including the United States.

The Chinese Government is sincere in developing the constructive and cooperative relations with the United States. This is a strategic decision we have made on the basis of our own national interests and the interests of the people of the world. What China and the United States should do is to maintain close contact between leaders of the two countries and officials at all levels to ensure timely and effective exchange of views on issues of shared interest. We should continue to enrich and improve the dialogue mechanisms in various fields, particularly the SED and the SD so that they will become long-term mechanisms that support stronger China-US constructive and cooperative relations.

Third, expand exchanges and cooperation and work together to promote common interests. We should further enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation in business, counter-terrorism, law enforcement, mil-to-mil relations, science and technology, education, culture and health, and step up consultation and coordination on regional hotspot issues and on issues related to the United Nations. In short, we should make bilateral cooperation stronger, broader and better.