The White House.docx
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The White House.docx
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TheWhiteHouse
TheWhiteHouse
OfficeofthePressSecretary
ForImmediateRelease
November16,2009
RemarksbyPresidentBarackObamaatTownHallMeetingwithFutureChineseLeaders
MuseumofScienceandTechnology,Shanghai,China
PRESIDENTOBAMA:
Goodafternoon. ItisagreathonorformetobehereinShanghai,andtohavethisopportunitytospeakwithallofyou. I'dliketothankFudanUniversity'sPresidentYangforhishospitalityandhisgraciouswelcome. I'dalsoliketothankouroutstandingAmbassador,JonHuntsman,whoexemplifiesthedeeptiesandrespectbetweenournations. Idon'tknowwhathesaid,butIhopeitwasgood. (Laughter.)
WhatI'dliketodoistomakesomeopeningcomments,andthenwhatI'mreallylookingforwardtodoingistakingquestions,notonlyfromstudentswhoareintheaudience,butalsowe'vereceivedquestionsonline,whichwillbeaskedbysomeofthestudentswhoarehereintheaudience,aswellasbyAmbassadorHuntsman. AndIamverysorrythatmyChineseisnotasgoodasyourEnglish,butIamlookingforwardtothischancetohaveadialogue.
ThisismyfirsttimetravelingtoChina,andI'mexcitedtoseethismajesticcountry. Here,inShanghai,weseethegrowththathascaughttheattentionoftheworld--thesoaringskyscrapers,thebustlingstreetsandentrepreneurialactivity. AndjustasI'mimpressedbythesesignsofChina'sjourneytothe21stcentury,I'meagertoseethoseancientplacesthatspeaktousfromChina'sdistantpast. TomorrowandthenextdayIhopetohaveachancewhenI'minBeijingtoseethemajestyoftheForbiddenCityandthewonderoftheGreatWall. Truly,thisisanationthatencompassesbotharichhistoryandabeliefinthepromiseofthefuture.
Thesamecanbesaidoftherelationshipbetweenourtwocountries. Shanghai,ofcourse,isacitythathasgreatmeaninginthehistoryoftherelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandChina. Itwashere,37yearsago,thattheShanghaiCommuniqueopenedthedoortoanewchapterofengagementbetweenourgovernmentsandamongourpeople. However,America'stiestothiscity--andtothiscountry--stretchbackfurther,totheearliestdaysofAmerica'sindependence.
In1784,ourfoundingfather,GeorgeWashington,commissionedtheEmpressofChina,ashipthatsetsailfortheseshoressothatitcouldpursuetradewiththeQingDynasty.Washingtonwantedtoseetheshipcarrytheflagaroundtheglobe,andtoforgenewtieswithnationslikeChina. ThisisacommonAmericanimpulse--thedesiretoreachfornewhorizons,andtoforgenewpartnershipsthataremutuallybeneficial.
Overthetwocenturiesthathavefollowed,thecurrentsofhistoryhavesteeredtherelationshipbetweenourcountriesinmanydirections. Andeveninthemidstoftumultuouswinds,ourpeoplehadopportunitiestoforgedeepandevendramaticties.Forinstance,AmericanswillneverforgetthehospitalityshowntoourpilotswhowereshotdownoveryoursoilduringWorldWarII,andcaredforbyChinesecivilianswhoriskedallthattheyhadbydoingso. AndChineseveteransofthatwarstillwarmlygreetthoseAmericanveteranswhoreturntothesiteswheretheyfoughttohelpliberateChinafromoccupation.
Adifferentkindofconnectionwasmadenearly40yearsagowhenthefrostbetweenourcountriesbegantothawthroughthesimplegameoftabletennis. Theveryunlikelynatureofthisengagementcontributedtoitssuccess--becauseforallourdifferences,bothourcommonhumanityandoursharedcuriositywererevealed. AsoneAmericanplayerdescribedhisvisittoChina--"[The]peoplearejustlikeus…ThecountryisverysimilartoAmerica,butstillverydifferent."
OfcoursethissmallopeningwasfollowedbytheachievementoftheShanghaiCommunique,andtheeventualestablishmentofformalrelationsbetweentheUnitedStatesandChinain1979. Andinthreedecades,justlookathowfarwehavecome.
In1979,tradebetweentheUnitedStatesandChinastoodatroughly$5billion--todayittopsover$400billioneachyear.Thecommerceaffectsourpeople'slivesinsomanyways. AmericaimportsfromChinamanyofthecomputerpartsweuse,theclotheswewear;andweexporttoChinamachinerythathelpspoweryourindustry. ThistradecouldcreateevenmorejobsonbothsidesofthePacific,whileallowingourpeopletoenjoyabetterqualityoflife. Andasdemandbecomesmorebalanced,itcanleadtoevenbroaderprosperity.
In1979,thepoliticalcooperationbetweentheUnitedStatesandChinawasrootedlargelyinoursharedrivalrywiththeSovietUnion. Today,wehaveapositive,constructiveandcomprehensiverelationshipthatopensthedoortopartnershiponthekeyglobalissuesofourtime--economicrecoveryandthedevelopmentofcleanenergy;stoppingthespreadofnuclearweaponsandthescourgeofclimatechange;thepromotionofpeaceandsecurityinAsiaandaroundtheglobe. AlloftheseissueswillbeontheagendatomorrowwhenImeetwithPresidentHu.
Andin1979,theconnectionsamongourpeoplewerelimited.Today,weseethecuriosityofthoseping-pongplayersmanifestedinthetiesthatarebeingforgedacrossmanysectors. ThesecondhighestnumberofforeignstudentsintheUnitedStatescomefromChina,andwe'veseena50percentincreaseinthestudyofChineseamongourownstudents. Therearenearly200"friendshipcities"drawingourcommunitiestogether. AmericanandChinesescientistscooperateonnewresearchanddiscovery. Andofcourse,YaoMingisjustonesignalofoursharedloveofbasketball--I'monlysorrythatIwon'tbeabletoseeaShanghaiSharksgamewhileI'mvisiting.
Itisnocoincidencethattherelationshipbetweenourcountrieshasaccompaniedaperiodofpositivechange. Chinahasliftedhundredsofmillionsofpeopleoutofpoverty--anaccomplishmentunparalleledinhumanhistory--whileplayingalargerroleinglobalevents. AndtheUnitedStateshasseenoureconomygrowalongwiththestandardoflivingenjoyedbyourpeople,whilebringingtheColdWartoasuccessfulconclusion.
ThereisaChineseproverb:
"Considerthepast,andyoushallknowthefuture." Surely,wehaveknownsetbacksandchallengesoverthelast30years. Ourrelationshiphasnotbeenwithoutdisagreementanddifficulty. Butthenotionthatwemustbeadversariesisnotpredestined--notwhenweconsiderthepast. Indeed,becauseofourcooperation,boththeUnitedStatesandChinaaremoreprosperousandmoresecure. Wehaveseenwhatispossiblewhenwebuilduponourmutualinterests,andengageonthebasisofmutualrespect.
Andyetthesuccessofthatengagementdependsuponunderstanding--onsustaininganopendialogue,andlearningaboutoneanotherandfromoneanother. ForjustasthatAmericantabletennisplayerpointedout--wesharemuchincommonashumanbeings,butourcountriesaredifferentincertainways.
Ibelievethateachcountrymustchartitsowncourse. Chinaisanancientnation,withadeeplyrootedculture. TheUnitedStates,bycomparison,isayoungnation,whosecultureisdeterminedbythemanydifferentimmigrantswhohavecometoourshores,andbythefoundingdocumentsthatguideourdemocracy.
Thosedocumentsputforwardasimplevisionofhumanaffairs,andtheyenshrineseveralcoreprinciples--thatallmenandwomenarecreatedequal,andpossesscertainfundamentalrights;thatgovernmentshouldreflectthewillofthepeopleandrespondtotheirwishes;thatcommerceshouldbeopen,informationfreelyaccessible;andthatlaws,andnotsimplymen,shouldguaranteetheadministrationofjustice.
Ofcourse,thestoryofournationisnotwithoutitsdifficultchapters. Inmanyways--overmanyyears--wehavestruggledtoadvancethepromiseoftheseprinciplestoallofourpeople,andtoforgeamoreperfectunion. Wefoughtaverypainfulcivilwar,andfreedaportionofourpopulationfromslavery. Ittooktimeforwomentobeextendedtherighttovote,workerstowintherighttoorganize,andforimmigrantsfromdifferentcornersoftheglobetobefullyembraced. Evenaftertheywerefreed,AfricanAmericansperseveredthroughconditionsthatwereseparateandnotequal,beforewinningfullandequalrights.
Noneofthiswaseasy. Butwemadeprogressbecauseofourbeliefinthosecoreprinciples,whichhaveservedasourcompassthroughthedarkestofstorms. ThatiswhyLincolncouldstandupinthemidstofcivilwaranddeclareitastruggletoseewhetheranynation,conceivedinliberty,and"dedicatedtothepropositionthatallmenarecreatedequal"couldlongendure.ThatiswhyDr.MartinLutherKingcouldstandonthestepsoftheLincolnMemorialandaskthatournationliveoutthetruemeaningofitscreed. That'swhyimmigrantsfromChinatoKenyacouldfindahomeonourshores;whyopportunityisavailabletoallwhowouldworkforit;andwhysomeonelikeme,wholessthan50yearsagowouldhavehadtroublevotinginsomepartsofAmerica,isnowabletoserveasitsPresident.
AndthatiswhyAmericawillalwaysspeakoutforthesecoreprinciplesaroundtheworld. Wedonotseektoimposeanysystemofgovernmentonanyothernation,butwealsodon'tbelievethattheprinciplesthatwestandforareuniquetoournation. Thesefreedomsofexpression_randworship--ofaccesstoinformationandpoliticalparticipation--webelieveareuniversalrights. Theyshouldbeavailabletoallpeople,includingethnicandreligiousminorities--whethertheyareintheUnitedStates,China,oranynation. Indeed,itisthatrespectforuniversalrightsthatguidesAmerica'sopennesstoothercountries;ourrespectfordifferentcultures;ourcommitmenttointernationallaw;and
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