On the afternoon of March 22, 2001, US President George W. Bush met with Vice Premier Qian Qichen of the State Council in the Oval Office of the White House. Extending welcome to Qian on his visit to the United States, Bush said he is willing to work with the Chinese side to promote the sound development of US-China relations in the new century.

Conveying the greetings from President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji to Bush, Qian said that President Jiang looks forward to meeting with Bush both on the sidelines of the APEC Informal Leadership Meeting to be held in Shanghai in the coming autumn and in Beijing afterwards.

Bush asked Qian to convey his greetings to President Jiang and Premier Zhu, He said that he has accepted with pleasure Jiang’s invitation to visit China and he is looking forward to meeting with Jiang on the sidelines of the APEC Informal Leadership Meeting to be held in Shanghai in the coming fall and visiting Beijing afterwards. He noted that he will be able to have the opportunity to see for himself China’s modernization process and what is more important, he will get acquainted with the Chinese leaders and hold talks with them face to face on the basis of mutual respect, which is of great importance to the development of bilateral ties.

Qian said that his ongoing visit is aimed at implementing the important and positive consensus reached by the two heads of states on how to promote bilateral relations. He noted that the Chinese government and leaders have all along attached great importance to China-US relations and have viewed and handled bilateral relations with a long-term and strategic perspective. He added that the maintenance of friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries conforms to the common interests of the two peoples and conduces to peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. He was convinced that as long as both sides respect each other and seek common ground while preserving differences, bilateral disagreements would not hamper bilateral cooperation.

Bush remarked that China is a great country with huge development potentials. He noted that the two countries have a lot in common on many issues and they also disagree on a number of issues. He was convinced that as long as the two sides adopt a candid attitude towards each other and properly handle their disputes, US-China relations should be a constructive one for the benefit of the generations to come.

The two sides also exchanged views on such issues as China’s accession to WTO. Bush said that the United States supports China’s entry into the world trade body at an early date.

Qian also briefed Bush on China’s economic and social developments.

On the same day, Qian also met with the US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Bush’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Rice.