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Relationship between China, US ‘transcends time’
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THE friendship between China and the United States transcends time and space, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a written interview with the Wall Street Journal published yesterday.
Xi arrived in Seattle late last night for a state visit to America.
In the article, Xi said he made his first visit to the US in 1985, when he led a delegation to Iowa to study agricultural technology. He said he was impressed both by the advanced technology he saw and the warmth of the American people.
He said he has since made several trips to the US and hosted American friends in China.
“I could tell from these personal experiences that Chinese and Americans cherish very friendly sentiments toward each other,” Xi said.
He said his wife Peng Liyuan is a performing artist and music professor, and that in recent years, as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls’ and Women’s Education, she has met many Americans.
“She shares my impressions,” Xi said.
Interactions between nations start with people, Xi said, adding that China and the US have a long history of exchanges.
More than 230 years ago, US merchant vessel “Empress of China” sailed across vast oceans to China. More than 70 years ago, American people defied sea and gravity to help the Chinese people in their heroic fight against the aggression of Japanese militarists, Xi said.
Just 36 years ago, China and the US established diplomatic ties, opening a new chapter in the annals of their friendly exchanges, he said.
“What has happened proves that China-US friendship transcends time and space,” he said.
Xi quoted the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, who said: “It’s only natural for things to be different.”
“Lack of understanding between countries is indeed a question, but this is life,” Xi said.
With differences in ethnicity, history, culture, religion, social system, development levels and lifestyles, there are things about others that one may find hard to understand, he said.
“This is for sure, but that said, it is also true that anything that is seemingly incomprehensible can be understood provided one is ready to learn and make an effort to understand it instead of dismissing it altogether.”
Every civilization has value for its existence, he said.
All countries and nations should cherish and protect their culture and values, and at the same time recognize and respect those of others, Xi said.
While feeling proud of one’s own cultural achievements, a country or a nation must not shut its door to the outside, still less, indulge in self-aggrandizement, he said.
“We should be ready to learn from other civilizations and carry forward their time-honored values that transcend national borders and retain appeal in modern times,” the president said.
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