We must view and handle China-US relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective. We must firmly uphold and advance our common interests and expand cooperation.

We must continue to perceive each other's development and judge each other's strategic intention in a level-headed and objective way and increase strategic mutual trust. We must respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, and fully appreciate and respect each other's choice of political system and development model.

We must adhere to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. In particular, we must handle properly the Taiwan question, the most important and sensitive issue in our bilateral relations. We must continue to improve institutional support for candid, in-depth and timely communication and cooperation and foster a sound media environment and build stronger public support for our relations.

Former vice-premier Li Lanqing and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger play ping-pong to mark the 30th anniversary of "Sino-US ping-pong diplomacy" on March 18, 2001. [Xu Jingxing]

I come from a poor mountainous village in Guizhou province. I plowed farmland and herded cattle on the hills. In my childhood, I dreamed of leaving the mountains one day. It is the founding of the New China, its development and, in particular, its reform and opening up that have given me the opportunity to see the outside world.

As every American has an American dream, so does every Chinese. It is reform and opening up that have given hundreds of millions of Chinese people more opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

The Chinese people embarked on the historic journey of reform and opening up and the modernization drive about the same time our two countries established diplomatic relations. With 30 years of painstaking efforts, we have scored great achievements that have been recognized worldwide.

Since China successfully hosted the Beijing Olympic Games this year, the world has paid more attention to us and shown a keener interest in China's long-term strategic intention and the direction of China's development. The so-called strategic intention of China is in fact not as complex or unfathomable as some people may think. They suspect that we have deeply hidden ambitions.

I can tell you in a responsible way that we Chinese have no secret schemes, only open plans, no wild ambitions, only goodwill. Our goal, to put it in one word, is development. That is to say, after ensuring adequate food and clothing for the 1.3 billion Chinese people, we will enable them to live a moderately prosperous life so that the Chinese nation which has gone through so many trials and tribulations will stand rock firm in the family of nations. This is our dream.