Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining Before Their Meeting

SECRETARY JINING:  (Via interpreter) It gives great pleasure to meet with you.  First, on behalf of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and I’d like to warmly welcome you and the delegation to Shanghai.  Last night I watched the news, and I saw that you went to our Yu Garden to enjoy our local delicacy, and you also watched our basketball match.  I hope that your visit to Shanghai could leave you with a deep impression, and I hope that you get more understanding of Shanghai.

I know that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and U.S., which are most important bilateral relations in the world.  Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the relationship has not always been smooth, there has always been twists and turns, but overall, it has progressed with historical development and progressed forward.  The constructive interactions and the stable relation between China and the U.S. have not only advanced our cooperation and exchange in all different aspects, and also help address global challenges, and helps promote world peace and development.  So whether China and the U.S. choose cooperation or confrontation, it affects the well-being of both peoples of nations and also the future of humanity – it is a major impact on the choice.

In November last year, President Xi Jinping, at the invitation of President Biden, held a summit in San Francisco with President Biden, outlining the San Francisco Vision for the future, setting the direction for stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.  In April this year, President Xi Jinping recently had a phone conversation with President Biden, where the two leaders candidly exchanged views on China-U.S. relations and issues of common concern in depth.  It continued the stabilization of our two countries’ relationship.  This forms a very important foundation for us to continue to strengthen the bilateral ties.  President Xi emphasized that, for the bilateral relations, really, the future, the hope of the bilateral relations lies with the people at sub-national relationship.

Shanghai is a local government.  We’re a country – we are a city with many American companies.  And we are home to over 8,000 U.S. companies, and we have really promoted the bilateral ties between the two sides on every aspect.  So Tony, very happy to exchange views with you on how the local government can make more contribution to promote bilateral ties.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, Party Secretary, thank you so much.  Thank you for receiving us today in this magnificent place in this magnificent city.  I was recalling that I think I was first here with President Clinton in 1998, then again with Vice President Biden about seven or eight years later, and now again here today.  And I’ve seen through these visits – I think my last one was in 2015 as deputy secretary of state – the extraordinary ongoing evolution of Shanghai, a magnificent city, a hub for business, for commerce, for trade.  And I think it shows one of the tremendous places of both existing but also potential relations between our countries, and that is the economic relationship.

I look forward to talking to you about that as well as, as you said, the many other ties that brings us together.  I’ll be seeing members of our own business community who are here in Shanghai.  I’ll be seeing students who are engaged in exchange programs, Americans and Chinese, working together at NYU’s Shanghai program.  And in each of these areas, I think it’s important to underscore the value – in fact, the necessity – of direct engagement, of sustained engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences which are real, seeking to work through them, as also looking for ways to build cooperation where we can.

We have an obligation for our people and, indeed, an obligation for the world to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly.  That is the obligation that we have and one that we take very seriously.  And I think the direction from President Biden and President Xi was to continue to build those lines of communication, to sustain, and again, to deal directly with our differences as we also seek to build cooperation.  So thank you for having us here today.  I look forward to a good conversation.