President Obama at a Shanghai town hall with students.docx

President Obama at a Shanghai town hall with students.docx

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PresidentObamaataShanghaitownhallwithstudents

PresidentObamaataShanghaitownhallwithstudents,asprovidedbytheWhiteHouse

PRESIDENTOBAMA:

Goodafternoon.ItisagreathonorformetobehereinShanghai,andtohavethisopportunitytospeakwithallofyou.I'dliketothankFudanUniversity'sPresidentYangforhishospitalityandhisgraciouswelcome.I'dalsoliketothankouroutstandingAmbassador,JonHuntsman,whoexemplifiesthedeeptiesandrespectbetweenournations.Idon'tknowwhathesaid,butIhopeitwasgood.（Laughter.）

WhatI'dliketodoistomakesomeopeningcomments,andthenwhatI'mreallylookingforwardtodoingistakingquestions,notonlyfromstudentswhoareintheaudience,butalsowe'vereceivedquestionsonline,whichwillbeaskedbysomeofthestudentswhoarehereintheaudience,aswellasbyAmbassadorHuntsman.AndIamverysorrythatmyChineseisnotasgoodasyourEnglish,butIamlookingforwardtothischancetohaveadialogue.

ThisismyfirsttimetravelingtoChina,andI'mexcitedtoseethismajesticcountry.Here,inShanghai,weseethegrowththathascaughttheattentionoftheworld--thesoaringskyscrapers,thebustlingstreetsandentrepreneurialactivity.AndjustasI'mimpressedbythesesignsofChina'sjourneytothe21stcentury,I'meagertoseethoseancientplacesthatspeaktousfromChina'sdistantpast.

TomorrowandthenextdayIhopetohaveachancewhenI'minBeijingtoseethemajesty.....

...oftheForbiddenCityandthewonderoftheGreatWall.Truly,thisisanationthatencompassesbotharichhistoryandabeliefinthepromiseofthefuture.

Thesamecanbesaidoftherelationshipbetweenourtwocountries.Shanghai,ofcourse,isacitythathasgreatmeaninginthehistoryoftherelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandChina.Itwashere,37yearsago,thattheShanghaiCommuniqueopenedthedoortoanewchapterofengagementbetweenourgovernmentsandamongourpeople.However,America'stiestothiscity--andtothiscountry--stretchbackfurther,totheearliestdaysofAmerica'sindependence.

In1784,ourfoundingfather,GeorgeWashington,commissionedtheEmpressofChina,ashipthatsetsailfortheseshoressothatitcouldpursuetradewiththeQingDynasty.Washingtonwantedtoseetheshipcarrytheflagaroundtheglobe,andtoforgenewtieswithnationslikeChina.ThisisacommonAmericanimpulse--thedesiretoreachfornewhorizons,andtoforgenewpartnershipsthataremutuallybeneficial.

Overthetwocenturiesthathavefollowed,thecurrentsofhistoryhavesteeredtherelationshipbetweenourcountriesinmanydirections.Andeveninthemidstoftumultuouswinds,ourpeoplehadopportunitiestoforgedeepandevendramaticties.Forinstance,AmericanswillneverforgetthehospitalityshowntoourpilotswhowereshotdownoveryoursoilduringWorldWarII,andcaredforbyChinesecivilianswhoriskedallthattheyhadbydoingso.AndChineseveteransofthatwarstillwarmlygreetthoseAmericanveteranswhoreturntothesiteswheretheyfoughttohelpliberateChinafromoccupation.

Adifferentkindofconnectionwasmadenearly40yearsagowhenthefrostbetweenourcountriesbegantothawthroughthesimplegameoftabletennis.Theveryunlikelynatureofthisengagementcontributedtoitssuccess--becauseforallourdifferences,bothourcommonhumanityandoursharedcuriositywererevealed.AsoneAmericanplayerdescribedhisvisittoChina--"[The]peoplearejustlikeus…ThecountryisverysimilartoAmerica,butstillverydifferent."

OfcoursethissmallopeningwasfollowedbytheachievementoftheShanghaiCommunique,andtheeventualestablishmentofformalrelationsbetweentheUnitedStatesandChinain1979.Andinthreedecades,justlookathowfarwehavecome.

In1979,tradebetweentheUnitedStatesandChinastoodatroughly$5billion--todayittopsover$400billioneachyear.Thecommerceaffectsourpeople'slivesinsomanyways.AmericaimportsfromChinamanyofthecomputerpartsweuse,theclotheswewear;andweexporttoChinamachinerythathelpspoweryourindustry.ThistradecouldcreateevenmorejobsonbothsidesofthePacific,whileallowingourpeopletoenjoyabetterqualityoflife.Andasdemandbecomesmorebalanced,itcanleadtoevenbroaderprosperity.

In1979,thepoliticalcooperationbetweentheUnitedStatesandChinawasrootedlargelyinoursharedrivalrywiththeSovietUnion.Today,wehaveapositive,constructiveandcomprehensiverelationshipthatopensthedoortopartnershiponthekeyglobalissuesofourtime--economicrecoveryandthedevelopmentofcleanenergy;stoppingthespreadofnuclearweaponsandthescourgeofclimatechange;thepromotionofpeaceandsecurityinAsiaandaroundtheglobe.AlloftheseissueswillbeontheagendatomorrowwhenImeetwithPresidentHu.

Andin1979,theconnectionsamongourpeoplewerelimited.Today,weseethecuriosityofthoseping-pongplayersmanifestedinthetiesthatarebeingforgedacrossmanysectors.ThesecondhighestnumberofforeignstudentsintheUnitedStatescomefromChina,andwe'veseena50percentincreaseinthestudyofChineseamongourownstudents.Therearenearly200"friendshipcities"drawingourcommunitiestogether.AmericanandChinesescientistscooperateonnewresearchanddiscovery.Andofcourse,YaoMingisjustonesignalofoursharedloveofbasketball--I'monlysorrythatIwon'tbeabletoseeaShanghaiSharksgamewhileI'mvisiting.

Itisnocoincidencethattherelationshipbetweenourcountrieshasaccompaniedaperiodofpositivechange.Chinahasliftedhundredsofmillionsofpeopleoutofpoverty--anaccomplishmentunparalleledinhumanhistory--whileplayingalargerroleinglobalevents.AndtheUnitedStateshasseenoureconomygrowalongwiththestandardoflivingenjoyedbyourpeople,whilebringingtheColdWartoasuccessfulconclusion.

ThereisaChineseproverb:

"Considerthepast,andyoushallknowthefuture."Surely,we....

ShanghaiNightskyline

....haveknownsetbacksandchallengesoverthelast30years.Ourrelationshiphasnotbeenwithoutdisagreementanddifficulty.Butthenotionthatwemustbeadversariesisnotpredestined--notwhenweconsiderthepast.Indeed,becauseofourcooperation,boththeUnitedStatesandChinaaremoreprosperousandmoresecure.Wehaveseenwhatispossiblewhenwebuilduponourmutualinterests,andengageonthebasisofmutualrespect.

Andyetthesuccessofthatengagementdependsuponunderstanding--onsustaininganopendialogue,andlearningaboutoneanotherandfromoneanother.ForjustasthatAmericantabletennisplayerpointedout--wesharemuchincommonashumanbeings,butourcountriesaredifferentincertainways.

Ibelievethateachcountrymustchartitsowncourse.Chinaisanancientnation,withadeeplyrootedculture.TheUnitedStates,bycomparison,isayoungnation,whosecultureisdeterminedbythemanydifferentimmigrantswhohavecometoourshores,andbythefoundingdocumentsthatguideourdemocracy.

Thosedocumentsputforwardasimplevisionofhumanaffairs,andtheyenshrineseveralcoreprinciples--thatallmenandwomenarecreatedequal,andpossesscertainfundamentalrights;thatgovernmentshouldreflectthewillofthepeopleandrespondtotheirwishes;thatcommerceshouldbeopen,informationfreelyaccessible;andthatlaws,andnotsimplymen,shouldguaranteetheadministrationofjustice.

Ofcourse,thestoryofournationisnotwithoutitsdifficultchapters.Inmanyways--overmanyyears--wehavestruggledtoadvancethepromiseoftheseprinciplestoallofourpeople,andtoforgeamoreperfectunion.Wefoughtaverypainfulcivilwar,andfreedaportionofourpopulationfromslavery.Ittooktimeforwomentobeextendedtherighttovote,workerstowintherighttoorganize,andforimmigrantsfromdifferentcornersoftheglobetobefullyembraced.Evenaftertheywerefreed,AfricanAmericansperseveredthroughconditionsthatwereseparateandnotequal,beforewinningfullandequalrights.

Noneofthiswaseasy.Butwemadeprogressbecauseofourbeliefinthosecoreprinciples,whichhaveservedasourcompassthroughthedarkestofstorms.ThatiswhyLincolncouldstandupinthemidstofcivilwaranddeclareitastruggletoseewhetheranynation,conceivedinliberty,and"dedicatedtothepropositionthatallmenarecreatedequal"couldlongendure.

ThatiswhyDr.MartinLutherKingcouldstandonthestepsoftheLincolnMemorialandaskthatournationliveoutthetruemeaningofitscreed.That'swhyimmigrantsfromChinatoKenyacouldfindahomeonourshores;whyopportunityisavailabletoallwhowouldworkforit;andwhysomeonelikeme,wholessthan50yearsagowouldhavehadtroublevotinginsomepartsofAmerica,isnowabletoserveasitsPresident.

AndthatiswhyAmericawillalwaysspeakoutforthesecoreprinciplesaroundtheworld.Wedonotseektoimposeanysystemofgovernmentonanyothernation,butwealsodon'tbelievethattheprinciplesthatwestandforareuniquetoournation.Thesefreedomsofexpressionandworship--ofaccesstoinformationandpoliticalparticipation--webelieveareuniversalrights.

Theyshouldbeavailabletoallpeople,includingethnicandreligiousminorities--whethertheyareintheUnitedStates,China,oranynation.Indeed,itisthatrespectforuniversalrightsthatguidesAmerica'sopennesstoothercountries;ourrespectfordifferentcultures;ourcommitmenttointernationallaw;andourfaithinthefuture.

TheseareallthingsthatyoushouldknowaboutAmerica.Ialsoknowthatwehavem