"It's no longer desirable or possible to have a zero-sum game, to have one country that gains all the advantages and the other country suffer."

Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, in an interview on January 20, saying Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to the United States had brought the two countries closer

"China enjoys a tremendous market for both manufacturing and consumption, and sees a growing demand for design industry and an increasing supply in this regard."

Song Weizu, Vice Secretary General of the China Industrial Design Association, saying Beijing's plans to build China's first design exchange center will offer a platform for trade in design and boost the country's burgeoning creative industry

"Opportunities for investment will last for a long time, perhaps 30 to 50 years."

Lin Shunjie, Vice Secretary General of the China Chamber of International Commerce, expressing confidence about Chinese investment in the United States

"We cannot afford to lose any further time to reach an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the opening of the 2011 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on January 21

"We came forward without any preconditions to find ways to cooperate."

Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on January 22 saying she was disappointed because Iran had set preconditions for nuclear talks in Istanbul

"They are saying I am biased, but I am executing the position of the African Union. If I am not welcome, somebody else will take over and he will not convey a different message."

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, on the Cote d'Ivoire crisis in Nairobi, vowing to push ahead with mediation efforts aimed at restoring normalcy to the Ivory Coast