Remarks by President Barack Obama

at Town Hall Meeting with Future Chinese Leaders

Museum of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

November 16, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good afternoon.  It is a great honor for me to be here in Shanghai, and to have this opportunity to speak with all of you.  I'd like to thank Fudan University's President Yang for his hospitality and his gracious welcome.  I'd also like to thank our outstanding Ambassador, Jon Huntsman, who exemplifies the  deep ties and respect between our nations.  I don't know what he said, but I hope it was good.  (Laughter.)  What I'd like to do is to make some opening comments, and then what I'm really looking forward to doing is taking questions, not only from students who are in the audience, but also we've received questions online, which will be asked by some of the students who are here in the audience, as well as by Ambassador Huntsman.  And I am very sorry that my Chinese is not as good as your English, but I am looking forward to this chance to have a dialogue.

This is my first time traveling to China, and I'm excited to see this majestic country.  Here,

in Shanghai, we see the growth that has caught the attention of the world -- the soaring

skyscrapers, the bustling streets and entrepreneurial activity.  And just as I'm impressed

by these signs of China's journey to the 21st century, I'm eager to see those ancient

places that speak to us from China's distant past.  Tomorrow and the next day I hope to

have a chance when I'm in Beijing to see the majesty of the Forbidden City and the

wonder of the Great Wall.  Truly, this is a nation that encompasses both a rich history and

a belief in the promise of the future. 

The same can be said of the relationship between our two countries.  Shanghai, of course, is a city that has great meaning in the history of the relationship between the United States and China.  It was here, 37 years ago, that the Shanghai Communique opened the door  to  a  new  chapter  of  engagement  between  our  governments  and  among  our people.  However, America's ties to this city -- and to this country -- stretch back further, to the earliest days of America's independence.

In 1784, our founding father, George Washington, commissioned the Empress of China, a ship that set sail for these shores so that it could pursue trade with the Qing Dynasty. Washington wanted to see the ship carry the flag around the globe, and to forge new ties with nations like China.  This is a common American impulse -- the desire to reach for new horizons, and to forge new partnerships that are mutually beneficial. Over the two centuries that have followed, the currents of history have steered the relationship  between  our  countries  in  many  directions.   And  even  in  the  midst  of

tumultuous winds, our people had opportunities to forge deep and even dramatic ties. For

instance, Americans will never forget the hospitality shown to our pilots who were shot

down over your soil during World War II, and cared for by Chinese civilians who risked all

that they had by doing so.  And Chinese veterans of that war still warmly greet those

American veterans who return to the sites where they fought to help liberate China from

occupation. A different kind of connection was made nearly 40 years ago when the frost between our countries began to thaw through the simple game of table tennis.  The very unlikely nature of this engagement contributed to its success -- because for all our differences, both our common humanity and our shared curiosity were revealed.  As one Americanplayer described his visit to China -- "[The]people are just like us…The country is very similar to America, but still very different." Of  course  this  small  opening  was  followed  by  the  achievement  of  the  Shanghai Communique, and the eventual establishment of formal relations between the United States and China in 1979.

你好。諸位下午好。我感到很榮幸能夠有機會到上海跟你們交談，我要感謝復旦大學的楊校長，感謝他的款待和熱情的歡迎。我還想感謝我們出色的大使洪博培，他是我們兩 國間深厚的紐帶。我不知道他剛才說什么，但是希望他說得很好。

我今天準備這樣，先做一個開場白，我真正希望做的是回答在座的問題，不但回答在座的學生問題，同時還可以從網上得到一些問題，由在座的一些學生和洪博培大使代為提問。很抱歉，我的中文遠不如你們的英文，所以我期待和你們的對話。這是我首次訪問中國，我看到你們博大的國家，感到很興奮。在上海這里，我們看到了矚目的增長，高聳的塔樓，繁忙的街道，還有企業家的精神。這些都是中國步入21世紀的跡象，讓我感到贊嘆。同時我也急切的要看到向我們展現中國古老的古跡，明天和后天我要到北京去看雄偉壯麗的故宮和令人嘆為觀止的長城，這個國度既有豐富的歷史，又有對未來憧憬的信念。

而我們兩國的關系也是如此，上海在美中關系的歷史中是個具有意義的重大城市，在30年前，《上海公報》打開了我們兩國政府和兩國人民接觸交往的新的篇章。

不過美國與這個國家的紐帶可以追溯更久遠的過去，追溯到美國獨立的初期，喬治？華盛頓組織了皇后號的下水儀式，這個船成功前往大清王朝，華盛頓希望看到這艘船前往各地，與中國結成新的紐帶。希望中國開辟新的地平線，建立新的伙伴關系。在其后的兩個世紀中，歷史洪流使我們兩國關系向許多不同的方向發展，而即使在最動蕩的方向中，我們的兩國人民打造深的，甚至有戲劇性的紐帶，比如美國人永遠不會忘記，在二戰期間，美國飛行員在中國上空被擊落后，當地人民對他們的款待，中國公民冒著失去一切的危險罩著他們。而參加二戰的老兵仍然歡迎故地重游的美國老兵，他們在那里參戰。40年前，我們兩國間開啟了又一種聯系，兩國關系開始解凍，通過乒乓球的比賽解凍關系。我們兩國之間有著分歧，但是我們也有著共同的人性及有著共同的好奇，就像一位乒乓球運動員一樣，那時的國家就是一樣，但是這個小小的開頭帶來了《上海公報》的問世，最終還帶來了美中在1979年建交。

 ——以上僅為部分內容。信息來源：中國日報

優朗英語培訓學校最新課表：http://www.www49663.com/shownews.asp?NewsId=45

相關閱讀：(一)如何學習英語

                 (二）如何選擇英語培訓機構