书城外语那些激励我前行的身影
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第19章 Tear Down This Wall (6)

We care about people’s value,rights and interests and freedom,the quality of their life,and their development potential and happiness index because our goal is to realize the all-around development of the people. Ensuring the right to survival and development remains China’s top priority. We will vigorously promote social and economic development,protect people’s freedom,democracy and human rights according to law,achieve social fairness and justice and enable the 1.3 billion Chinese people to live a happy life.

The Chinese civilization has always given prominence to unremitting self-improvement,reform and innovation. As an ancient Chinese motto puts it,“As Heaven keeps vigor through movement,a gentleman should unremittingly practice self-improvement.”Throughout its 5,000-year history,it is thanks to their perseverance,determination,stamina and innovation that the Chinese nation has grown after surviving numerous setbacks and adversity. The Chinese people have shown enterprising spirit and reform and opening-up creativity in national development and great tenacity in overcoming difficulties on the road to progress. And all this gives expression to the spirit of unremitting self-improvement embodied in China’s cultural tradition.

The Chinese civilization has always given prominence to social harmony,unity and mutual assistance. Back in the early days of the Chinese nation,the Chinese already advocated that“harmony is most valuable.”They strove for harmony between man and nature,among people and between man’s body and soul,and yearned for an ideal society where“everyone loves everyone else,everyone is equal and the whole world is one community.”Today,China is endeavoring to build a harmonious society. It is a society of democracy and rule of law,fairness and justice,integrity,fraternity,vitality,stability,order and harmony between man and nature. It is a society where there is unity between the material and the spirit,democracy and rule of law,fairness and efficiency,and vitality and order. The Chinese people takes the maintenance of ethnic unity and harmony as their bounden duty and the defense of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity their sacred mission. Any act that promoted ethnic harmony and national unity will receive the warm welcome and support of the Chinese people. On the other hand,any act that undermines China’s ethnic harmony and national unity will meet their strong opposition and resistance. The Chinese civilization has always given prominence to good neighborliness. The Chinese nation cherishes peace. In foreign relations,the Chinese have always believed that“the strong should not oppress the weak and the rich should not bully the poor”and advocated that“all nations live side by side in perfect harmony.”The Chinese held that“one should be as inclusive as the ocean,which is vast because it admits hundreds of rivers”and called for drawing upon the strength of others. Today,China holds high the banner of peace,development and cooperation. It pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and commits itself firmly to peaceful development. It seeks to accelerate its development by upholding world peace. The world peace is,in turn,enhanced by China’s development. China firmly pursues a strategy of opening-up for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. It genuinely wishes to enter into extensive cooperation with other countries. It is inclusive and is eager to draw on the strength of other civilizations to pursue peace and development through cooperation and play its part in building a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.

Ladies and gentlemen,dear friends,

China and the United States are both countries of vast territory where many ethnic groups coexist and different cultures intermingle. Both our two peoples are hard-working and talented. Due to different historical backgrounds and national conditions,there are differences between China and the United States. But this enables us to learn from each other and draw on each other’s strengths. Closer China-U.S. cooperation serves the fundamental interests of our two countries and peoples and is also of far-reaching significance for peace and development of the whole world.

Vast as it is,the Pacific Ocean has not stood in the way of exchanges and cooperation between our two peoples over the past two hundred years,and many moving episodes of mutual learning and mutual help between our two peoples who represent different civilizations have been recorded. In the 27 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979,China-U.S. relations have maintained steady momentum of growth despite twists and turns on the way,bringing tremendous benefits to both countries and peoples.