【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 inancial system and to the growth and prosperity which should be embracing all of this region.
　　in the 21st century, your generation will have a remarkable opportunity to bring together the talents of our scientists, doctors, engineers into a shared quest for progress. already the breakthroughs we have achieved in our areas of joint cooperation in challenges from dealing with spina bifida to dealing with extreme weather conditions and earthquakes have proved what we can do together to change the lives of millions of people in china and the united states and around the world. expanding our cooperation in science and technology can be one of our greatest gifts to the future.
　　in each of these vital areas that i have mentioned, we can clearly acplish so much more by walking together rather than standing apart. that is why we should work to see that the productive relationship we now enjoy blossoms into a fuller partnership in the new century.
　　if that is to happen, it is very important that we understand each other better, that we understand both our mon interest and our shared aspirations and our honest differences. i believe the kind of open, direct exchange that president jiang and i had on saturday at our press conference which i know many of you watched on television can both clarify and narrow our differences, and, more important, by allowing people to understand and debate and discuss these things can give a greater sense of confidence to our people that we can make a better future.
　　from the windows of the white house, where i live in washington, ., the monument to our first president, george washington, dominates the skyline. it is a very tall obelisk. but very near this large monument there is a small stone which contains these words: the united states neither established titles of nobility and royalty, nor created a hereditary system. state affairs are put to the vote of public opinion.
　　this created a new political situation, unprecedented from ancient times to the present. how wonderful it is. those words were not written by an american. they were written by xu jiyu, governor of fujian province, inscribed as a gift from the government of china to our nation in 1853.
　　i am very grateful for that gift from china. it goes to the heart of who we are as a people the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the freedom to debate, to dissent, to associate, to worship without interference from the state. these are the ideals that were at the core of our founding over 220 years ago. these are the ideas that led us across our continent and onto the world stage. these are the ideals that americans cherish today.
　　as i said in my press conference with president jiang, we have an ongoing quest ourselves to live up to those ideals. the people who framed our constitution understood that we would never achieve perfection. they said that the mission of america would always be to form a more perfect union in other words, that we would never be perfect, but we had to keep trying to do better.
　　the darkest moments in our history have e when we abandoned the effort to do better, when we denied freedom to our people because of their race or their religion, because there were new immigrants or because they held unpopular opinions. the best moments in our history have e when we protected the freedom of people who held unpopular opinion, or extended rights enjoyed by the many to the few who had previously been denied them, making, therefore, the promises of our declaration of independence and constitution more than faded words on old parchment.
　　today we do not seek to impose our vision on others, but we are convinced that certain rights are universal not american rights or european rights or rights for developed nations, but the birthrights of people everywhere, now enshrined in the united nations declaration on human rights the right to be treated with dignity。 the right to express one39。s opinions, to choose one39。s own leaders, to associate freely with others, and to worship, or not, freely, however one chooses.
　　in the last letter of his life, the author of our declaration of independence and our third president, thomas jefferson, said then that all eyes are opening to the rights of man. i believe that in this time, at long last, 172 years after jefferson wrote those words, all eyes are opening to the rights of men and women everywhere.
　　over the past two decades, a rising tide of freedom has lifted the lives of millions around the world, sweeping away failed dictatorial systems in the former soviet union, throughout central europe。 ending a vicious cycle of military coups and civil wars in latin america。 giving more people in africa the chance to make the most of their hardwon independence. and from the philippines to south korea, from thailand to mongolia, freedom has reached asia39。s shores, powering a surge of growth and productivity.
　　economic security also can be an essential element of freedom. it is recognized in the united nations covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights. in china, you have made extraordinary strides in nurturing that liberty, and spreading freedom from want, to be a source of strength to your people. ines are up, poverty is down。 people do have more choices of jobs, and the ability to travel the ability to make a better life. but true freedom includes more than economic freedom. in america, we believe it is a concept which is indivisible.
　　over the past four days, i have seen freedom in many manifestations in china. i have seen the fresh shoots of democracy growing in the villages of your heartland. i have visited a village that chose its own leaders in free elections. i have also seen the cell phones, the video players, the fax machines carrying ideas, information and images from all over the world. i39。ve heard people speak their minds and i have joined people in prayer in the faith of my own choosing. in al