Dinner in Honor of His Excellency Hu Jintao

HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. HU JINTAO:

Respected Mr. Mike Eskew, respected Miss Carla Hills, respected Mr. Thomas Donohue, Secretary Elaine Chao, Dr. Henry Kissinger, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, I would like to begin by thanking my hosts this evening. They are the U.S.-China Business Council, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with America-China Society, U.S.-China Policy Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Committee of One Hundred, Asia Society, the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, China General Chamber Commerce, USA, and China Institute in America. Thank you for hosting such a big dinner for all us.

This evening I’m delighted to have this opportunity to meet with my friends, both old and new, to renew our friendship and look ahead at the future.

Here, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you for your valuable contributions — (applause) — and, through you, extend our best wishes to all Americans who care about and have supported the growth of China-U.S. relations.

I am visiting the United States at the invitation of President Bush to strengthen dialogue, increase common understanding, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation, and promote the all-round growth of constructive and cooperative China-U.S. relations in the 21st century.

During the visit, I had fruitful talks with President Bush, met with representatives and other U.S. leaders, met with representatives of the American public and reached important common understanding.