State Visit Working Lunch at the State Department

Secretary Clinton: Good afternoon, and welcome to the State Department.
Please be seated.
We are delighted and honored to host such a distinguished
gathering, Vice President Biden, Dr. Biden, and I.
Welcome our special guests, especially President Hu Jintao
and the distinguished members of the Chinese delegation.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to welcome so many
members of Congress and members of the President's Cabinet,
including Secretary of Defense Gates, Attorney General Holder,
Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack,
Secretary of Commerce Locke, Secretary of Energy Chu,
Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano,
and U.S. Trade Representative Kirk.
(translation being made)
As you can tell, we are eating lunch a little late.
(laughter)
So we are anxious to provide some nourishment to our guests
who have traveled so far to be with us.
And it is my pleasure now to introduce my friend and our Vice
President, Vice President Biden.
(applause) (translation being made)
Vice President Biden: Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.
It's an honor to welcome such distinguished guests from the
Chinese delegation, particularly you, Mr. President.
(translation being made)
May I also acknowledge my American colleagues here today
who worked so many successful administrations --
in so many successful administrations,
and have made such meaningful contributions to this
relationship, including the man sitting directly to my right and
below me, Dr. Kissinger.
(translation being made)
Mr. President, I would like to thank you for mentioning earlier
today Vice President Xi's kind invitation for me to visit China
this summer.
Please tell him I accept.
(laughter and applause)
(translation being made)
I gladly accept and I'm looking forward to hosting the Vice
President later this year when he comes here.
(translation being made)
As President Obama occasionally reminds me,
I've been around a long time.
(laughter)
(translation being made)
I was here with other people in this room 32 years ago when Vice
Premier Deng Xiaoping lead a historic visit to the United
States, an event not unlike today's.
(translation being made)
I can literally recall how Newsweek magazine described the visit.
They said, "a turning point in the affairs of the modern world."
(translation being made)
A few months later, I had the opportunity to be among the
first members of Congress in the delegation lead by Frank Church
and Jacob Javits to visit after that state dinner.
(translation being made)
Even back then, there was a debate about whether a rising
China was in the interest of the United States and the world.
(translation being made)
I believed then and I'm even more convinced now that a rising
China is an incredibly positive development for not only China
but the United States and the rest of the world.
(translation being made)
I admit, my view is borne out of my overwhelming confidence in
the capability of the American people and confidence that a
prosperous China benefits not only the Chinese citizens,
but other nations as well.
(translation being made)
The lone concern I had then and remains my concern now is that
instability in this relationship could arise only from mutual
misunderstanding as to our respective country's intentions
and our domestic needs.
(translation being made)
That's why I'm convinced, Mr. President,
that face-to-face bilateral meetings like this and the ones
you had last night and earlier today and will have again
tonight are so important.
(translation being made)
President Hu noted earlier in the Oval Office today that this
was his eighth meeting -- eighth face-to-face meeting with
President Obama in two years.
(translation being made)
And I think those meetings are bearing fruit.
Our discussions so far and since the beginning of the meetings
with the President have been straightforward and collegial.
(translation being made)
And I'm absolutely convinced, if we continue to work at it,
there are exceptional opportunities for economic
growth and promotion of peace in the world as a consequence of
this relationship.
(translation being made)
On the last day of that landmark visit 32 years ago,
Vice Premier Deng offered an inspiring wish for the future.
He said, and I quote, "May the Chinese and American people live
in friendship from generation to generation,
and may they always safeguard world peace together."
(translation being made)
I want to thank all of those working so hard to realize this week.
And I'd like now to raise our glass in a toast to many more
generations of friendship and peace.
(translation being made)
Ladies and gentlemen, President Hu.
(clinking glasses)
(applause)
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): Vice President Biden and Mrs. Biden,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ladies and gentlemen,
dear friends, I wish to thank Vice President and Mrs. Biden
and Secretary Clinton for hosting this luncheon for me and
my colleagues.
To begin with, I would also like to express sincere appreciation
to all of you for your abiding commitment to China-U.S. relations.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): This year marks the 40th anniversary since China and the
United States reopened the door to each other.
We cherish fond memories of the ping pong diplomacy and
Dr. Kissinger's trip to China 40 years ago,
the handshake across the Pacific between President Nixon and
Chinese leaders 39 years ago, and the early spring visit of
Mr. Deng Xiaoping to the United States 32 years ago.
These momentous events bore witness to the historical
process in which the people of our two countries ended
estrangement and renewed friendship.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): China-U.S. relations have traveled a extraordinary path in
the past four decades.
In the beginning, leaders of our two countries would meet only
once every few years.
Yet, in the past two years alone,
President Obama and I have met eight times.
Bilateral trade was just over $2 billion U.S. when we established
the diplomatic ties, but it exceeded $380 billion U.S. last year.
Between 1949 and 1972, the total number of people who visited
each other's countries was less than 5,000.
Today, three million tourists travel between the two countries
every year, not to mention the 120,000 Chinese students in the
United States and over 20,000 American students in China.
There was no sister province/state and sister city
relationship at the start of our diplomatic relations.
But now, there are 36 pairs of sister provinces, states,
and 161 pairs of sister cities.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): Reviewing the past gives us a lot of food for thought.
Without the shared strategic interest and without a common
pursuit of world peace, stability, and prosperity,
China-U.S. exchanges and cooperation would not have come this far.
Looking ahead, we have every reason to be confident about the
future of our relations.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): This morning, I held talks with President Obama.
We had a in-depth exchange of views on China-U.S. relations
and major international and regional issues of shared
interest and reached broad agreement.
The most important agreement that we reached is that,
in the face of the new situation and the new challenges,
China and the United States should come up with new ideas
and measures to further promote the positive, cooperative,
and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship and work together
to build a cooperative partnership,
based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): To this end, we need to maintain and intensify communication
through multiple channels in various forms and at different levels.
This will help us deepen mutual trust,
remove misunderstandings in a timely fashion,
and expand consensus.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): To sustain the momentum of high level interactions,
the two sides have agreed that Vice President Biden will pay a
visit to China this year.
We need to deepen bilateral, practical cooperation in economy
and trade, energy, the environment, counter-terrorism,
nonproliferation, law enforcement,
and cultural and people-to-people exchanges,
resume and enhance military-to-military dialogue
and exchanges, and actively nurture new areas of cooperation
such as clean energy and infrastructure development,
thus cementing the foundation of our common interests.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): We need to better demonstrate the spirit of mutual respect,
respecting each other's choice of social system and development
path and each other's sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and development interests.
We need to work together to play our role as responsible and
constructive major countries and make greater contribution to
peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region and the world.
And we need to encourage more Chinese and Americans to get
involved in the growth of our relations so as to solidify the
social basis and public support for stronger China-U.S. relations.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): The main areas of agreement that President Obama and I have
reached, I hope and believe that our agreement and its
implementation will land a strong impetus to China-U.S.
relationship and push it forward along the right track.
President Hu: (speaking Chinese)
(as translated): Now I would like to propose a toast to the health of Vice
President and Mrs. Biden, to the health of Secretary Clinton,
to the health of all of our friends present,
and to the friendship between our two peoples.
Cheers!
Vice President Biden: Now we get to eat.
Secretary Clinton: I think so.
(applause)