Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy,

Under Secretary Eric Hirschhorn,

Ambassadors,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to start by welcoming all of you to the Chinese Embassy. It is a great pleasure and privilege to have you joining us in celebrating the sixty-third anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The year 2012 has been extraordinary in terms of China’s development process. China has to introduce a host of policies and measures to stabilize growth and balance the economy to meet with enormous domestic and external challenges. For the first six months, China’s GDP growth slowed down to 7.8%, but is still within the expected range.

Looking forward, we see strong vitality and enormous potential in the Chinese economy, and the upward trajectory will sustain. We have the confidence and ability to persevere through all the difficulties, keep the economy on the track of stable and relatively fast growth, and continue to contribute to the recovery and growth of the global economy.

China-US relations continue to move forward. The two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges and high-quality dialogue and consultations. The two sides have also deepened cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, energy, environmental protection, people-to-people exchanges and sub-national cooperation. China and the United States have kept effective communication and coordination on major regional and global issues.

As the largest developing country and the largest developed country respectively, China and the United States are different in many aspects, but we do share extensive common interests in restoring global economic growth and maintaining world peace and stability. In the era of globalization and with increasing interdependence between the two countries, we need to view and approach China-US relationship with a new perspective and a new thinking. We are firmly committed to building a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit as agreed by our two heads of state. I am confident that, with joint efforts, China and the United States can break the so-called historical premise that a newly emerging country and an established power will eventually head toward confrontation, and instead, embark on a new model of state-to-state relationship.

Finally, I take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to all of you for your valuable support and contributions to China-US relations.

Thank you all very much!

（September 26, 2012）