Vice-Premier Liu Yandong shakes hands with former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger before a forum where they both spoke at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday. WANG YING/XINHUA Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who has described the US-China relationship as the defining relationship of the 21st century, said on Tuesday that both sides need to work together for peace and human progress. It will be imperative that we work together to lift our relationship from the pragmatic and from the day-to-day solving of problems to the conceptual, to the creation of a new encompassing concept of a world order that promotes peace and human progress, as we are now doing on the Korean issue, Kissinger said. He spoke at the opening ceremony of the US-China University Presidents and Think Tank Forum at Columbia University. Kissinger said conflict between China and the US would be a disaster for each society and for the world at large. As I said before, we do not have this choice, Kissinger emphasized. He said he has visited China more than 100 times since his first visit 46 years ago. Kissinger said the two nations' people-to-people exchanges have evolved into an absolute prerequisite for world order. When China and the United States first established its present relationship, the motivation was largely strategic, to conserve securities, he said. Today, they might seek a concept not of security but of coevolution, in which two great societies can exist side by side, occasionally pursuing different objectives, but merging them in a common protection of the necessities and the opportunities that are the imperative of our age. Our challenge is to find a way for American exceptionalism and China's dreams to produce a new world order for the benefit of all, he said. Kissinger said China is pursuing two centenary goals and all people who have witnessed China's development in one generation will have no doubt that the country will fulfill its dream. He said China's Belt and Road Initiative will have the significance of shifting the world center of gravity from the Atlantic to the Pacific. ... That's why many of us urged the US to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank when it was proposed by China. Vice-Premier Liu Yandong, speaking at the same forum, expressed appreciation to Kissinger for his contribution to China-US relations. The key to the relationship is how the two countries' peoples relate to each other, Liu said. Only by constantly releasing the positive energy of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the US, enhancing the understanding and friendship between the two peoples and consolidating the friendly public opinion foundation of the two countries, can Sino-US relations maintain a long-term, healthy and stable development, Liu said. The daylong forum attracted 200 attendees, including presidents and representatives of universities from the two countries and senior US politicians. Also Tuesday, Liu addressed a China-US cultural forum at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, calling for more cooperation between Chinese and US cultural institutions and artists to promote the development of the ties between the two countries. The forum invited more than 40 representatives from distinguished cultural institutions in both China and the US, said Luo Shugang, China's minister of culture, who hosted the event. It's the largest cultural dialogue between the two nations. Liu said cultural exchanges are the highlight of the nations' people-to-people exchanges. Zhang Ruinan and Xinhua contributed to this story. Contact the writers at [email protected]personalised fabric wristbandssilicone braceletssilicone fidget spinnerwristbands online202mm to inches
A delegation made up of around 150 young people from a variety of sectors in Hong Kong visits the Palace Museum in Beijing to learn about Chinese history on Friday, the last day of their five-day visit to the mainland. [Photo/China Daily] Vice-Premier Han Zheng encouraged young people from Hong Kong on Friday to enhance their knowledge of the nation and pursue their careers considering both the special administrative region and the nation's development. Han, a member of the country's top political authority, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also called on the young people to contribute to the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Han made the remarks when meeting with a Hong Kong youth delegation in Beijing. The delegation of 150 included a cross section of the SAR's young people. Han said President Xi Jinping cares about youth development and has great expectations for Hong Kong's youth. A nation will prosper only when its young people thrive, Han said. Han also expressed his hope that the city's young people will be patriotic, persistent in realizing their dreams and committed to serving the SAR and the country. The delegation, of youth aged 18-35, was on a trip to Shenzhen, Wuhan and Beijing by high-speed rail this week with a special focus on the nation's booming innovation and technology industries. Delegation head Kenneth Fok Kai-kong called meeting Han of great significance as the young people learned that the country's development has set the stage for them to realize their dreams in a historic opportunity. Fok, who is a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, added that it would make Hong Kong's youth-related work more inspiring. Andy Tsang Hin-lam, a freshman history major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Han's remarks showed that the future of Hong Kong youth is not just limited to Hong Kong. He called on his peers in the special administrative region to broaden their horizons and take part in national development. Tang Chui-lee, a sophomore studying movie and TV production at Hong Kong Design Institute, said she learned that the country has provided great policies and resources, and young people should seize opportunities in a timely and proactive way.
