(April 17, 2013)

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening. First of all, let's once again express our heartfelt sympathy for the victims of the bombing in Boston two days ago. Two Americans and one 23-year-old Chinese girl lost their lives. Another Chinese student, along side with so many Americans, was injured. We strongly condemn such an act of terror. Once again, the people of China and the people of the United States are attacked in this brutal way. And once again, the people of China and the people of the United States are standing side by side to confront and defeat such criminal acts. The tragedy will only make us more determined to build stronger ties between us and make a better and safer world for all.

And with this in mind, let me thank you so much for coming. It's really great to see so many friends, both old and new, in this room. Your presence tonight is certainly a personal honor for me, and more importantly also shows your commitment to China-US relations. Let me thank you all most sincerely for your support and for what you have done for our relationship over the years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When we look at China-US relations, perhaps none of us has ever imagined that this relationship could have developed to such a level as we see today. Over the past four decades, China-US relations have made remarkable strides despite all the twists and turns. Increasingly, our two sides are working together to strengthen dialogue and exchange, build mutual trust, and coordinate and cooperate closely and effectively on regional and international issues. We are each other's second largest trading partner, if not already the largest one. Each year, some 3.5 million visits are made across the Pacific. In the past four years, President Hu Jintao and President Obama met for a record number of 12 times. We have put in place a series of dialogue mechanisms, such as the Strategic and Economic Dialogues (S&ED), and the High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchanges (CPE). All this is rarely seen not only in the history of bilateral engagement, but also throughout the history of international relations. It is fair to say that China-US relationship has become one of the most important and dynamic bilateral relations in the world today.

What has been driving our relations is the ever expanding converging interests between our two countries and the common responsibility that we share in safeguarding world peace, promoting sustainable development of the global economy, and addressing so many global challenges. China is the largest developing country in the world, and the United States is the largest developed one. We both are permanent members of the UN Security Council. Combined, China and the US account for one-third of the world's economy, one quarter of the world's population, and one-fifth of the world's trade volume. To keep a healthy, stable and growing relationship is not only a must for our two countries, but also a shared commitment to the international community that we have to fulfill together.

Today, we are at a new phase in China-US relations. On the very first day of President Xi Jinping's presidency, he and President Obama spoke on the phone. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together with mutual respect, continue to advance China-US cooperative partnership and explore a new type of relations between major countries. Just recently, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry both made successful and productive visits to China. What has dominated the above high-level communications is "continuity" and "development". On China's part, we have made it clear that China will remain firmly committed to reform and opening-up, to the path of peaceful development, and to an even stronger China-US relationship. The US side also made clear that it would continue to work with China to strengthen bilateral relations. In particular, we highly appreciate President Obama's statement in this regard when he accepted my Letter of Credence on Monday. We are confident that there are great opportunities lying ahead and bright prospects to open up for our future relationship.

I am indeed honored and privileged to represent my country as the tenth Chinese Ambassador to the US at this important time. In the months and years ahead, I take it as my mission to build on the good foundation laid by my predecessors, work with my US counterparts to expand our dialogue, communication and cooperation, properly handle the complexities in our relations, carry forward our cooperative partnership, and explore in a joint endeavor with our American friends a new type of relationship between major countries.

In my new job, I hope to engage as fully as possible with the American people and build a stronger base of support for China-US relationship. I look forward to meeting people both in and outside of the government, people from the Congress, from the business community, think tanks, the media, and so on. I also look forward to interacting with the American people at the federal as well as the state and local levels. I hope that all of you would continue to support the Embassy and myself as you have generously done in the past. And here, I would like to make a special reference for a really special and honored guest tonight, Mrs. Jeanne Barnett. Welcome! Her husband, Professor Doak Barnett, was a pioneer in our relationship, and he was my professor in SAIS, the John Hopkins University. Besides, both of us were born in Shanghai, although decades apart. Thank you very much for coming, Mrs. Barnett.

In my new job, I will also do my best to serve the Chinese community here. You have made great contributions to the American society and to the relations between China and the US. We are so proud of you and will be with you whenever you need us.

Dear friends, over 40 years ago, I was just a young high school graduate working in the remote rural area in the Chinese northeastern province of Heilongjiang. When I read about the news of Dr. Kissinger's visit to China, I just had a fancy idea that someday I would come here to see this great country with my own eyes. And here I am today, standing in front of you. So dreams do come true. But even with my wildest imagination at that time, I never expected to be the Chinese Ambassador here. So I am deeply grateful to my country and my people for giving me this opportunity to render my humble service. I am also deeply grateful to all the people of both our countries who have laid this solid foundation for our relationship. China and the United States are two great nations with great dreams. And I am quite confident that by working together, we can make all great dreams come true. We have that great capacity. We have confidence in ourselves.

With this, I ask you to join me in a toast,

To the bright prospects of China-US relations,

To our friendship, and

To your good health!

Thank you all very much.