US President George W. Bush held a 19-gun salute welcome ceremony Tuesday for visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao before the two leaders held talks at the White House.  

At about 9:50 a.m. local time, national anthems of China and the United States were played on the White House South Lawn while 19 salute guns were fired just several hundred meters away.

Under a clear winter sky, Premier Wen walked down from the platform together with President Bush to review the guard of honor.

"Your visit reflects the increasing ties of cooperation and commerce between our two nations," Bush said as he welcomed Wen and members of his entourage.

"America and China share many common interests," Bush said, adding that the two countries are working together in the war on terror and are partners in diplomacy to meet the dangers of the 21st century.

On the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, Bush said: "I am grateful for China's leadership in hosting the six-party talks, which are bringing us closer to a peaceful resolution of this issue."

"China's increasing prosperity has brought great benefits to the Chinese people and to China's trading partners around the world," Bush said. "My country looks forward to working with you as China increasingly takes its place among the leading nations of the world."

"The United States and China have made great progress in building a relationship that can address the challenges of our time, encourage global prosperity, and advance the cause of peace," Bush said.

In reply, Wen said, "I have brought with me the sincere greetings and good wishes of the great Chinese people to the great American people."

"In the past 25 years, our relations have stood tests of all kinds, moved forward through twists and turns, and made great progress," he said. "Our cooperation in a wide range of areas, such as counterterrorism, economy, trade, and international and regional issues, has effectively safeguarded our mutual interests and promoted peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region and the world at large."

"At present, we are at a crucial juncture of carrying our relationship into the future, where we face both opportunities and challenges," Wen said.

"The fundamental interests of our two peoples and the people across the world required that China and the United States step up cooperation, increase mutual trust, and further push forward the constructive and cooperative bilateral relations," Wen said.

"In the final analysis, China-US relations must go on improving. It is with this earnest desire that I've come to visit your country."

"We should view and handle China-US relations in a historic perspective and with strategic foresight and courage. The three Sino-US Joint Communiqués drawn up by our two sides set the guiding principles for appropriately addressing differences between the two countries and continuing to broaden bilateral exchanges and cooperation. So long as the two sides continue to strictly abide by the principles, as set forth in the three Sino-US Joint Communiqués, and boost cooperation, our relationship will keep moving forward steadily," Wen said.

Wen, who started his four-day US visit on Sunday, arrived in Washington Monday after a stopover in New York. He will travel to the eastern US coastal city of Boston Wednesday before leaving for Canada to continue his four-nation tour.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2003)