On April 20, 2024, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy Forum on China and delivered a speech entitled "Chinese Modernization, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and China-US Relations", emphasizing that in the face of a turbulent world, China's choice is to promote Chinese-style modernization internally and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind externally. It is hoped that the US will work with China in the same direction and explore the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.
Xie Feng pointed out that the world has changed a lot and is full of turbulence and unrest. The resurgence of the conflict in the Middle East, the intensification of the prolongation of the Ukraine crisis, and the fact that there are powder kegs everywhere; the world economic recovery is sluggish, energy, food, and debt crises are emerging one after another, more than 100 million people have been displaced, and more than 700 million people are still starving; non-traditional security challenges such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and biosecurity are on the rise, and people are worried that the "Oppenheimer moment" will come again, and the survival of civilization has become a real issue that must be faced.
Xie Feng said that mankind has reached the critical juncture of climbing the slope and overcoming the hurdles, and all countries are on the same big boat. In the face of stormy seas, we must be in the same boat, and we must not "squeeze" in the same boat. China's choice is clear and firm: to promote Chinese-style modernization, which is the grand blueprint for China's development, and to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which is China's plan to jointly build a better world. A developing China will continue to contribute to a world of lasting peace, a China of sharing will continue to create opportunities for a world of common prosperity, a progressive China will continue to build bridges for an open and inclusive world, a green China will continue to inject impetus into a clean and beautiful world, and a peaceful China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities for a world of universal security.
Xie Feng stressed that both promoting Chinese-style modernization and building a community with a shared future for mankind are inseparable from a peaceful international environment and are closely related to stable China-US relations. At present, China-US relations are still facing severe challenges. Whether the younger generation can enjoy the dividends of peace and development that have lasted for 80 years as their parents did depends to a large extent on whether China and the United States can find the right way to get along in the new era. China hopes to work with the US side to uphold its responsibility to reassure the people of the two countries and the world, demonstrate goodwill and sincerity in making bilateral relations better, come up with measures and actions to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and turn the "San Francisco Vision" into a "reality", so that China-US relations can move forward on a stable, healthy and sustainable track.
Xie Feng said: First, we must jointly establish a correct understanding. China does not gamble on the United States to lose, interfere in its internal affairs, or interfere in the US election, and is willing to be a partner and friend with the United States. If the United States continues to interfere in China's internal affairs and harm China's interests on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, and the South China Sea, how can it hold on to the bottom of bilateral relations, no matter how many "guardrails" it puts up? Third, we must work together to promote mutually beneficial cooperation. Just imagine half a century ago, if the two sides blindly highlighted differences and competition, would China and the United States reopen the door to exchanges? Will there still be the tremendous dividends of peace and development brought to the two countries and the world by the 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States? When there are advantages, they talk about the free market and engage in protectionism when they don't. Is the US also willing to open up your multilateral initiatives to China? Fifth, we need to jointly promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Since the leaders of the two countries have reached a consensus on promoting people-to-people exchanges, why not remove artificial barriers such as travel, visas, and entry as soon as possible? From 1949 to 1971, China and the United States were hostile and isolated for 22 years, and trade between the two countries was almost zero, and visa applications had to be processed separately. In today's globalized world, do we have to go back?
Xie Feng said that Sino-US relations have never been smooth sailing. In every difficult moment, there are always people who stand up and cheer for China-US relations. Harvard is a pioneer in people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, and is one of the first American universities to accept Chinese students, the first to set up Chinese language courses, and the first to conduct in-depth research on China. China-US relations cannot go back to the past, but the two sides can work together to create a better future, and hope lies in the youth. Young people are the most vigorous, creative and action-oriented, and I hope that everyone will open their legs and experience a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China, use their brains diligently to contribute wisdom to explore the correct way for China and the United States to get along on this planet, and let go of their work to contribute to the promotion of China-US exchanges and cooperation, and jointly open up a future of sustained peace and prosperity.
Ambassador Xie Feng's speech was warmly welcomed by the delegates, Harvard teachers and students, and the guests at the scene gave many long applause.
More than 300 people attended the forum, including Allison, Founding Dean of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Yunshang Dong, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, Bergsten, founder of the Person Institute for International Economics, Alexander Anderander, Vice President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Huang Ping, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York, Xue Lan, Dean of Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University, and other representatives of the political, business and academic circles of the two countries, as well as teachers and students of Harvard University and Chinese students in the United States.
Source: Chinese Embassy in the United States