Remarks by President Barack Obama

at Town Hall Meeting with Future Chinese Leaders

Museum of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

November 16, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good afternoon.  It is a great honor for me to be here in Shanghai, and to have this opportunity to speak with all of you.  I'd like to thank Fudan University's President Yang for his hospitality and his gracious welcome.  I'd also like to thank our outstanding Ambassador, Jon Huntsman, who exemplifies the  deep ties and respect between our nations.  I don't know what he said, but I hope it was good.  (Laughter.)  What I'd like to do is to make some opening comments, and then what I'm really looking forward to doing is taking questions, not only from students who are in the audience, but also we've received questions online, which will be asked by some of the students who are here in the audience, as well as by Ambassador Huntsman.  And I am very sorry that my Chinese is not as good as your English, but I am looking forward to this chance to have a dialogue.

This is my first time traveling to China, and I'm excited to see this majestic country.  Here,

in Shanghai, we see the growth that has caught the attention of the world -- the soaring

skyscrapers, the bustling streets and entrepreneurial activity.  And just as I'm impressed

by these signs of China's journey to the 21st century, I'm eager to see those ancient

places that speak to us from China's distant past.  Tomorrow and the next day I hope to

have a chance when I'm in Beijing to see the majesty of the Forbidden City and the

wonder of the Great Wall.  Truly, this is a nation that encompasses both a rich history and

a belief in the promise of the future. 

The same can be said of the relationship between our two countries.  Shanghai, of course, is a city that has great meaning in the history of the relationship between the United States and China.  It was here, 37 years ago, that the Shanghai Communique opened the door  to  a  new  chapter  of  engagement  between  our  governments  and  among  our people.  However, America's ties to this city -- and to this country -- stretch back further, to the earliest days of America's independence.

In 1784, our founding father, George Washington, commissioned the Empress of China, a ship that set sail for these shores so that it could pursue trade with the Qing Dynasty. Washington wanted to see the ship carry the flag around the globe, and to forge new ties with nations like China.  This is a common American impulse -- the desire to reach for new horizons, and to forge new partnerships that are mutually beneficial. Over the two centuries that have followed, the currents of history have steered the relationship  between  our  countries  in  many  directions.   And  even  in  the  midst  of

tumultuous winds, our people had opportunities to forge deep and even dramatic ties. For

instance, Americans will never forget the hospitality shown to our pilots who were shot

down over your soil during World War II, and cared for by Chinese civilians who risked all

that they had by doing so.  And Chinese veterans of that war still warmly greet those

American veterans who return to the sites where they fought to help liberate China from

occupation. A different kind of connection was made nearly 40 years ago when the frost between our countries began to thaw through the simple game of table tennis.  The very unlikely nature of this engagement contributed to its success -- because for all our differences, both our common humanity and our shared curiosity were revealed.  As one Americanplayer described his visit to China -- "[The]people are just like us…The country is very similar to America, but still very different." Of  course  this  small  opening  was  followed  by  the  achievement  of  the  Shanghai Communique, and the eventual establishment of formal relations between the United States and China in 1979.

你好。诸位下午好。我感到很荣幸能够有机会到上海跟你们交谈，我要感谢复旦大学的杨校长，感谢他的款待和热情的欢迎。我还想感谢我们出色的大使洪博培，他是我们两 国间深厚的纽带。我不知道他刚才说什么，但是希望他说得很好。

我今天准备这样，先做一个开场白，我真正希望做的是回答在座的问题，不但回答在座的学生问题，同时还可以从网上得到一些问题，由在座的一些学生和洪博培大使代为提问。很抱歉，我的中文远不如你们的英文，所以我期待和你们的对话。这是我首次访问中国，我看到你们博大的国家，感到很兴奋。在上海这里，我们看到了瞩目的增长，高耸的塔楼，繁忙的街道，还有企业家的精神。这些都是中国步入21世纪的迹象，让我感到赞叹。同时我也急切的要看到向我们展现中国古老的古迹，明天和后天我要到北京去看雄伟壮丽的故宫和令人叹为观止的长城，这个国度既有丰富的历史，又有对未来憧憬的信念。

而我们两国的关系也是如此，上海在美中关系的历史中是个具有意义的重大城市，在30年前，《上海公报》打开了我们两国政府和两国人民接触交往的新的篇章。

不过美国与这个国家的纽带可以追溯更久远的过去，追溯到美国独立的初期，乔治？华盛顿组织了皇后号的下水仪式，这个船成功前往大清王朝，华盛顿希望看到这艘船前往各地，与中国结成新的纽带。希望中国开辟新的地平线，建立新的伙伴关系。在其后的两个世纪中，历史洪流使我们两国关系向许多不同的方向发展，而即使在最动荡的方向中，我们的两国人民打造深的，甚至有戏剧性的纽带，比如美国人永远不会忘记，在二战期间，美国飞行员在中国上空被击落后，当地人民对他们的款待，中国公民冒着失去一切的危险罩着他们。而参加二战的老兵仍然欢迎故地重游的美国老兵，他们在那里参战。40年前，我们两国间开启了又一种联系，两国关系开始解冻，通过乒乓球的比赛解冻关系。我们两国之间有着分歧，但是我们也有着共同的人性及有着共同的好奇，就像一位乒乓球运动员一样，那时的国家就是一样，但是这个小小的开头带来了《上海公报》的问世，最终还带来了美中在1979年建交。

 ——以上仅为部分内容。信息来源：中国日报

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