It’s very important that we use multilateral meetings like the EAS to discuss shared regional and global challenges, and I’m committed to working with China and I’m committed to working with Asia.  It’s important that our two countries cooperate to build a more secure and prosperous future for the Asia Pacific region and for the world.

Premier Wen and I have also worked very closely together on our bilateral and global economic problems.  And as the two largest economies in the world, we have a special responsibility to lead the way in ensuring sustained and balanced growth, not only here in Asia but globally.

I very much believe that the cooperative and constructive approach that we’ve taken to our bilateral relations is good for both our countries and the world.  And it is very important that as two of the largest economies in the world, that we work to establish clear rules of the road internationally for trade and investment, which can increase prosperity and global growth.

So I very much appreciate Premier Wen’s engagement with the United States on these issues.  I’m sure this will be another honest and constructive conversation and will help to continue the process of strengthening the relationship between China and the United States.

PREMIER WEN:  (As interpreted.)  Mr. President, it is a great pleasure to see you again.  This is our fifth meeting.

Let me use this opportunity to first, once again, extend my congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your reelection, and I also wish to convey the best regards from President Hu Jintao and the newly-elected General Secretary Xi Jinping to you.

Mr. President, you have set out your vision on many occasions that you want to lead the United States to address various challenges more effectively, in particular to revitalize the economy, to create more jobs, and to enhance international security and cooperation.  I wish you all the best.

You and I share the view, Mr. President, that the China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world.  The long-term sound and steady growth of China-U.S. relations serves the fundamental interests of both countries.  It is also important for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia Pacific and the world.

I hope our meeting today will send out such a positive message to the world — a positive message that both countries will remain committed to pursuing a cooperative partnership between the two sides based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.  Our two sides will continue to work together to strengthen and enhance our dialogue mechanisms, including the strategic and economic dialogues, the strategic security dialogue, and the high-level consultation on people-to-people exchange.

We will enhance our business cooperation and engage in large-scale cooperation in economy and finance to use it as a means to tackle the difficulties we have and resolve the differences and disagreements between us.  Our two countries will enhance exchange and consultation on regional and international affairs, in particular to enhance our cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.

Well, I believe we have a common will on all those important issues.  I look forward to an honest discussion with you today, Mr. President.

END

AMBASSADOR LOCKE: Well, welcome everyone. And we’re so honored to have Secretary Hillary Clinton with us today. And she brought the beautiful weather, so let’s thank her for the – (cheers) – beautiful weather and the very clean air. But she’s with us in the midst of another extremely busy globetrotting itinerary from the Cook Islands down near New Zealand then to Indonesia, up here to China. She came in last evening. Then she’s going to go back down tonight to Timor-Leste and then off to Brunei and then back up to Vladivostok for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

It means to all of us, Secretary Clinton, that you’re here to take time to meet and greet our Embassy and their families. We know that this is very much in character, however, with her remarkable tenure as Secretary of State. She’s traveled more than – get a load of this – 865,000 miles and visited more than 100 countries. And China was her very first trip abroad as Secretary of State, and since then she has spent more than 365 days on the road in – a full year in less than four years as Secretary of State.

I have to let you know that the Secretary’s dedication and stamina and – are absolutely amazing. As I indicated, she came in last night. Our very first meetings with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and top Chinese Government officials started at nine o’clock and did not end until almost one o’clock in the morning. Everyone else in the room, including the Chinese and the American staff, were falling asleep, having a hard time. (Laughter.) I was fidgeting in my chair, trying to stay alert. And I look over to Secretary Clinton. She’s sitting perfectly straight up, at full attention and alert. And your mom would be very, very proud. (Laughter.) Very energized.

But you cannot capture her remarkable career in public service in numbers. She was, of course, an amazing First Lady of the United States of America. She’s been a champion of human rights all around the world, standing up for women’s rights in particular. And we all remember her very, very first trip to China, in where she famously said that women’s rights are human rights. (Cheers and applause.) But her commitment to public service runs deep, and after serving as our nation’s First Lady, she was a very effective U.S. senator who gained bipartisan respect, something that we need a lot more of in the United States Congress these days.

For our own part, Mona and I have valued her as a friend and as a colleague. And we have a picture – we can show her the picture – in our home of Mona and myself with Secretary Clinton, then First Lady Clinton, and President Clinton during the Clintons’ 1996 reelection campaign. And Mona and I – we were running for governor in Washington and we are on bus trip through the back route of Washington State, and President Clinton and First Lady Clinton were giving us advice on how to be public servants.

And I don’t think you’ll ever forget also that later when our several-month-old Emily was on your shoulder, and you were carrying her on your shoulder. And she was, of course, the First Lady of America visiting the State of Washington, and our few-month-old baby girl, of course, when you’re on someone’s shoulder, had a little bit of a burp. (Laughter.)

But we’re so proud and honored to have you here. And I’ve served with you when you were First Lady and we were governor. I served with you as fellow cabinet members under President Obama’s Administration, and now I’m just so proud and honored to be part of your State Department team here in Beijing. (Applause.)

Madam Secretary, as you can see today, we have a large number of employees and families here to see you, and the hours and the miles you’ve spent on the road speak to your dedication, and the enthusiastic audience here today reflects our appreciation for all of your hard work, but also our admiration for your leadership, courage, tenacity, and stamina. I know that the people of China actually have a very special fondness for you, and I learned just recently that in Mandarin many Chinese refer you to as Secretary Xi-la-li, or Secretary Hillary. They refer to you like a friend.

On behalf of the men and women and the families from the State Department and all foreign affairs agencies here at Embassy Beijing, we thank you again for being here today. You’ve been to China as our nation’s First Lady, a U.S. senator, and now as Secretary of State. And this probably your – perhaps your last visit in that capacity as Secretary of State, but we expect to see you back again in another capacity in government after 2016. (Cheers and applause.) We’re looking for an even higher title then.

Ladies and gentlemen, our great honor to have with us, our great boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Cheers and applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, I’ll be back as ambassador – (laughter) – a great opportunity to serve and to be a colleague of such extraordinary public servants as all of you.

As the Ambassador said, I’ve known Gary and Mona for many years now, and I am so pleased to see the impact they are both having on China and in furthering our relationship, which is so vital to both of our countries. I really am so grateful. It’s hard to believe that it was only last August that you were sworn in as our ambassador. It’s gone by very quickly. It’s been somewhat of an eventful year here at Embassy Beijing. And there’s no surprise on my part at a lot of the accomplishments that have taken place under Gary’s leadership. And I’m so pleased that Mona can be a great ambassador as well to the Chinese people. She is one of our great assets here on behalf of American diplomacy. So to both Gary and Mona and to your three children, thank you for serving your country in such a wonderful way. (Applause.)

And I want to thank DCM Bob Wang. Thank you, Bob, for your service as well. And all of you, I’m sure, know how important we feel about what we’re doing here in the Asia Pacific, and in particular in the U.S.-China relationship. It’s a complicated relationship. There’s no doubt about that. But we believe strongly it’s a vital relationship and one of the most important in determining the kind of future that we’ll have for the beautiful children and young people that I just took a picture with outside.

We have – and have said it many times – a commitment to a successful China, a China that continues to serve the needs economically of their own people, but also a China that is a positive force for global security, stability, and prosperity. Now, we are blazing new territory here, trying to find the right balance between cooperation and competition. We literally are figuring it out each day, and we are counting on all of you and your colleagues, not only here in Beijing but across China, to help us do just that. It means a lot of long hours and a lot of extra work, but we are grateful to you.

Our mission to China has almost 2,000 employees, representatives from 19 different federal agencies. That alone shows what a premium we place on the relationship. And when I worked to try to combine all of the dialogues that were happening when the Obama Administration came into office, I said I wanted to create an umbrella, because we have so many different agencies and concerns that are being acted on every day. We need to be sure that we coordinate more effectively. So the Strategic and Economic Dialogue was meant to be the mechanism for that level of coordination and to develop habits of cooperation between and among our governments.

It is not just the size that matters. Obviously, this is a very large country and will require a large American presence. But it is the way you have translated this mission into results for Chinese and Americans alike. I told Gary that one of the unbelievable accomplishments of his tenure in really less than a year is the way you have set records for processing visas. You really made a difference in accelerating the ability of Chinese to come to the United States. Because I believe firmly in these people-to-people transactions, our business-to-business transactions, our student exchanges, recreation, and travel. We need to keep that flow going. And I am very grateful for the way that you have set the standard.

We have tried to support you in that, but the work has been done by this mission here in Beijing and across the country. We brag everywhere we go, I and others in the State Department, about everything you’ve done to improve the speed and volume of visa processing. But I think it bears repeating, dropping wait times from more than 50 days in 2011 to six days is hugely impressive. And when you translate those visas into tourist spending and new business investment, it has a direct impact on our own economic recovery back home. So more Chinese students, more business people, more tourists. And I understand you are on pace to process as many as 1.4 million visa applications this year. So I want you all to give yourselves a round of applause for such an amazing achievement. (Applause.)

And there’s so much else that you do every single day. Those of you not working directly in consular affairs, you’re working to advance human rights and democracy in a very challenging and fast-paced environment. And I want to take just a moment to remember that when I was here in May I was proud to present our Department-wide Human Rights Award to four winners from mission China. I want to, again, reiterate how important your work is in promoting the universal values that we believe in and that we think are the birthright of every human being. Human rights are as fundamental with our agenda with China as economic statecraft, so I thank you for your dedication and commitment. And again, let’s give a round of applause to all the working on behalf of human rights and democracy. (Applause.)

Now, I will take credit for the clear day and the pollution-free environment – (laughter) – but I know that it’s something that affects you, and particularly if you have children here, something that you are concerned about, especially during the hot summer months. So I want to thank the Embassy and the environment, science, and technology and health staff for your commitment to monitoring and improving the air quality for everyone who works in our facilities. You’re not only helping people stay healthy, but you’re leading by example and keeping the focus on a major problem that affects many millions of Chinese citizens as well. I know that there was a little bit of grief for publicizing the air pollution quality measurements, but I think that was all to the good, because it really is important to get information that can help people, whether they’re here on our Embassy team or out in the communities here and around China.

I also want to thank our local Chinese staff. I know how challenging it is from time to time to be part of this incredible effort we’re undertaking to improve relations between our two countries and to put us on a very firm foundation for the future. But could all our local Chinese staff just raise your hands? Because I want to give you a round of applause as well. (Applause.) It’s true all over the world that ambassadors and Secretaries of State come and go, but our locally employed staff remain the link between the United States and the people of China. You’re the memory bank and the nerve center, and we are grateful to you for your expertise and experience.

To all of our team here, Chinese and American staff and families alike, thank you. Thank you for your commitment, and in many cases your sacrifice. Particularly for Americans, I know living so far from home, from family, from friends can be a challenge. But this is what you signed up for. You signed up for going out into the world and exercising American influence on behalf of American values and American interests and American security. And we could not – we absolutely could not – expect to make progress in this vital relationship without you being willing to do so.

So for me, I am personally honored to serve with colleagues like all of you. I think it’s an especially tumultuous but exciting time in history to be working on behalf of the United States, and especially here in China. It’s exciting for me to come back and see the progress that has taken place here in China and to be determined that we’re going to keep forging this positive, cooperative, comprehensive relationship that President Obama and President Hu Jintao have committed to.

I just finished a very long press conference with Foreign Minister Yang, and he was asked, look – by the Chinese press – don’t you think America’s just out to contain you and don’t you think that conflict is inevitable? And he said what I had said earlier in the press conference: We are trying to do something which has never been done before, where you have a rising power and a dominant power. And as that rising power assumes greater and greater influence and reach far beyond its borders, we want to see China be a responsible global leader, on the side of helping to solve problems and prevent conflict.

Yes. Do we have disagreements? Of course. What two nations don’t? What two people don’t? That seems to be obvious to me. And we will continue to be forthright about our disagreements, whether it’s on human rights or the South China Sea or anything else. But overall we are committed to ensuring that we find as many areas of cooperation as possible and that we produce practical results for our people and the Chinese people, as well as the region and the world.

So when we talk about our people-to-people exchanges – some of you helped when I did that last May; it was genuinely moving to see the young American student and the young Chinese student talking about what it had meant to their lives to have studied in the other country – when we talk about the 100,000 Strong, when we are trying to convey more clearly what Americans stand for, when we had the Shanghai Expo and the USA pavilion was staffed by young Americans of every ethnic and racial background, speaking Chinese, hosting all of the visitors who were coming, we are building connections, government-to-government, people-to-people. And we could not do that without all of you and the many hundreds of others who work with you every single day.

Now, I am going to try to shake as many hands as I can before I leave. I only have three more meetings and a dinner left. (Laughter.) But I hope that you know how grateful we are in Washington. We are well aware that we could not do what we are attempting without all of you.

So Gary and Mona, thank you for being such a dynamic duo, leading our Embassy. I love reading about the tweets and the blogs about Gary’s backpack – (laughter) – and buying coffee. And I want to see more about you, Mona. I want to see you out there meeting and working with and interacting with more Chinese people as well. Because we want to have a full court press so everybody knows that we are committed to this relationship, committed to the ongoing depth and breadth of it, and that we are going to persevere through the difficult and challenging times, some of which you might remember from last May here at the Embassy, because we know it is ultimately in the interest of the United States and China and the world for us to do so.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (In Chinese.)

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter.) Now Secretary Clinton will make an opening statement.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Let me begin by thanking Foreign Minister Yang for his long commitment to strengthening the bonds between China and the United States. And we have had constructive and productive in-depth discussions last night for a number of hours and then again this morning with President Hu Jintao. I conveyed to President Hu Jintao the warm regards from President Obama.

I am pleased to return to China for my fifth visit, I think, although I’ve lost track, as U.S. Secretary of State. I came on my very first trip in early 2009, and this has been part of our overarching engagement in Asia. And as Minister Yang just said, we have institutionalized a number of mechanisms for ongoing dialogue. Our Strategic and Economic Dialogue, our consultation on People-to-People Exchange, our Strategic Security Dialogue, our Asia Pacific Consultation, our new Middle East Dialogue, and all the rest of our engagement really exemplifies how hard we are working at every level of our government to build habits of cooperation and to open channels of communication. We literally consult with each other almost on a daily basis about every consequential issue facing our nations and the world today.

As I have said before, our two nations are trying to do something that has never been done in history, which is to write a new answer to the question of what happens when an established power and a rising power meet. Both President Obama and I have said frequently that the United States welcomes the rise of a strong, prosperous, and peaceful China. We want China to continue to succeed in delivering economic opportunity to the Chinese people. That will, in turn, have a positive impact on the global economy. We want China to play a greater role in world affairs. That strengthens global stability, helps solve urgent challenges. And we are convinced that our two countries gain far more when we cooperate with one another than when we descend into an unhealthy competition. So we are committed to managing our differences effectively and expanding our cooperation wherever and whenever possible.

We see this moment as a historic opportunity for our two countries, and indeed, for others as well. To make the most of it, the United States and China must strive to achieve practical outcomes that benefit each of us as well as the broader region and world. That has been the theme of my meetings in Beijing today, and it started with our extensive conversations with the Foreign Minister and his colleagues, which went well past midnight and then continued this morning. Later today, I will be meeting with other Chinese officials, as the Foreign Minister has just outlined. And let me say how pleased I am to have this chance to exchange views in advance of APEC, where I will be representing President Obama.

One issue we discussed at length is the evolving situation in Syria. The United States strongly believes the simplest and best solution to end the violence is for there to be a peaceful political transition that respects the dignity, aspirations, and rights of the Syrian people. The United States wants to work with China and other international partners to take effective steps to end the violence and bring about that political transition, because doing so, we believe, serves our common interest as well as the interest of Syrians and others in the region.

We discussed our shared commitment in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and our work together in the P-5+1 as well as at the upcoming IAEA Board of Governors meeting. China recently reduced its purchase of Iranian oil; and while it took this step for its own commercial and energy security reasons, it aligns with our shared interest regarding Iran and our hope that Iran will live up to its international obligations.

We had a productive conversation about how China can use its unique influence with respect to North Korea. There is an opportunity for the new leadership in North Korea to improve the lives of the North Korean people. At the same time, we wish to continue our joint efforts to bring about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

I also raised the growing threat of cyber attacks that are occurring on an increasing basis. Both the United States and China are victims of cyber attacks. Intellectual property, commercial data, national security information is being targeted. This is an issue of increasing concern to the business community and the Government of the United States, as well as many other countries, and it is vital that we work together to curb this behavior.

Another issue, as the Minister mentioned, was the South China Sea. I reiterated, as I have on many occasions, the United States does not take a position on competing territorial claims. Our interest is in the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law, freedom of navigation, and unimpeded lawful commerce. And as a friend to the countries involved, we do believe it’s in everyone’s interest that China and ASEAN engage in a diplomatic process toward the shared goal of a code of conduct.

On some of these issues, China and the United States have much to agree on, and we are engaged in very cooperative behavior to try to reach our common goal. On others, such as human rights, we do not always see eye to eye, but we continue to talk together. And we will never agree on all matters. No two countries do. But we are learning how to manage our differences, deal openly with misunderstandings when they do occur, and remain in communication as transparently and clearly as possible. We have taken to heart the vision set by our two presidents to build a relationship that is positive, cooperative, and comprehensive and that delivers benefits to both our nations, and that, in turn, helps to drive peace, stability, progress, and prosperity throughout the region and the world.

So let me again thank the Foreign Minister and President Hu Jintao for this friendship, for this very important set of consultations. I look forward to the rest of my meetings today, and I thank the people of China for once again welcoming me and my delegation to your country.

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, Madam Secretary.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter.) Now we open up the floor for questions. China Daily.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter.) Good morning, Madam Secretary. The United States is implementing a rebalancing strategy in the Asia Pacific region. And some senior U.S. officials, including yourself, have repeatedly said that this is not targeted at China. But judging from some recent U.S. moves in the region, including the strengthening of military alliances with countries in the region, many people have come to the conclusion that the fundamental role of the strategy is to contain China and to thwart China’s development. How do you look at this?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, thank you for asking that question, because I want to be very clear. As the President and I have said many times, the United States welcomes a strong, stable, prosperous China that plays a role in world affairs commensurate with its size and helps to maintain and shape the global order. And we believe strongly that China has a vital role as a force for security and peace, stability and prosperity, regionally and globally. And so along with the rest of the international community, the United States counts on China’s leadership in addressing many of our common global challenges.

So that is why we have worked so intensively. We have deepened and broadened our cooperation on a range of issues bilaterally, regionally, and globally. Our two presidents have met 12 times. Vice President Biden and Vice President Xi have had very successful exchanged visits in each of our countries. We have held four Strategic and Economic Dialogues, which took the government-to-government relationship much deeper and broader than at any time prior to the Obama Administration.

So I’m very proud of the strength and resilience that we have built into our relationship. It makes it possible for us to talk about anything and to find ways to tackle issues frankly and forthrightly.

Now, that includes our work on economic and trade issues, which are very critical to creating jobs and opportunity on both sides of the Pacific. We are very clear, as we have these discussions, about the need to develop what we call a level playing field for economic investments in both our countries. It also enables us to work together through multilateral institutions, like the East Asia Summit, which the United States has joined out of respect for the importance of that organization; APEC, which is another vehicle. I’ll be seeing President Hu and other Chinese officials in Vladivostok in just a few days.

So it means we can cooperate on a much broader range of issues, but we do not see eye-to-eye on everything. And I would not expect anyone to imagine that two countries as large and diverse as we are would ever see eye-to-eye. We have different experiences, different perspectives. But what we have done is to embed the importance of dialogue and cooperation so that when we work together, it’s to the benefit of everyone. When we have these differences, we work through them.

And I am absolutely convinced that our collaboration has been vital. We’ve worked together on peace in Sudan and South Sudan. We are working to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. We haven’t agreed on how to handle Syria, but we haven’t stopped talking about what should be done, because the violence continues. The instability is quite concerning. We don’t agree on a lot of human rights issues, but we have maintained a strong and ongoing dialogue. And this is a relationship that matters to both of us, and I am very convinced that we’ve established a strong foundation, government-to-government and people-to-people.

I cannot help what someone in your country says or someone in my country says. We are going to have critics in both of our countries who are going to second-guess decisions that we are making. But I feel strongly that we are on the right track in building a positive, cooperative, comprehensive relationship for the 21^st century.

MS. NULAND: All right. Next question. (Laughter.) The next question, Indira Lakshmanan from Bloomberg News, please.

QUESTION: Thank you. Foreign Minister Yang, your ministry spokesman said this week that countries outside the region shouldn’t intervene in China Seas territorial disputes. Do you accept that the U.S. has a legitimate national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and commerce in the South and East China Seas? Or does Vice President Xi’s cancellation of his meeting with the Secretary signal displeasure with U.S. interference? And do you agree with state media commentaries that say increased U.S. naval and military presence in the Pacific is about containing China?

And Madam Secretary, do you come out of these talks any more confident that China is ready to sign up to a code of conduct on the South Seas issues?

Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (Via interpreter.) On the South China Sea, the position of the Chinese Government has been consistent and clear-cut. China has sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters. There is plentiful historical and jurisprudential evidence for that.

As for the dispute over the sovereignty of some islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands and the overlapping rights, interests, and claims over some waters of the South China Sea, these should be discussed by the directly concerned countries on the basis of the fact – of historical fact and international law, and handled and settled through direct negotiations and friendly consultation. People talk about the importance of respecting the DOC. What I have outlined is not just China’s position, but an important principle and spirit of the DOC. It is the consensus of all the signatories to the DOC and important commitment the parties have made.

Recently, I have visited several of these Asian countries, who are also member-states of ASEAN. Like China, these countries also believe that the parties concerned should act in accordance with the principles and spirit of the DOC and on the basis of consensus work towards the eventual adoption of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

Nowhere else do China and the United States share more converging interest and interact more frequently than in the Asia Pacific region. At the moment, the international situation continues to undergo profound and complex changes, and the prospect of a world economic recovery is still quite grim. We hope that China and the United States will work together to develop a positive and pragmatic relationship. That is also the shared expectation of the people in the Asia Pacific region. We hope to work with the United States and other countries in the Asia Pacific to make our region one of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and win-win progress.

As for the United States policy towards the Asia Pacific region, we have always hoped that the United States would size up the situation and make sure that its policy is in conformity with the trends of our current era and the general wish of countries in the region to seek peace, development, and cooperation. And this is also China’s wish and has been China’s way of behavior. We believe our two sides should step up consultation on Asia Pacific affairs and to make a success of the East Asia Summit and other important meetings before the end of the year.

And I wish to emphasize that the Asia Pacific Economic Leaders meeting is just a couple of days away. Our two sides need to step up communication and cooperation to make sure the APEC meeting will be a full success.

The current schedule of the Secretary’s visit has been agreed by the two sides. I hope people will not add unnecessary speculation. We attach a great deal of importance to Secretary Clinton’s visit to China. And I want to add also that the freedom and safety of navigation in the South China Sea is assured. For China and our neighboring countries, the South China Sea is really a lifeline for exchanges, trade, and commerce. There is no issue currently in this area, nor will there ever be issues in that area in the future. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I appreciate the Minister’s comments about the commitment China has to a code of conduct that was foreshadowed in the Declaration of Conduct agreed to by China and ASEAN nations 10 years ago. We believe, as I said in Jakarta, that it is timely now to proceed with that work and help to lower the tensions and create the code of conduct in the next period, hopefully in preparation for the East Asia Summit.

After my talks over the last few days, I believe that with leadership and commitment China and ASEAN can ramp up their diplomacy. And the United States stands ready to support that process in any way that would be helpful to the parties.

MS. NULAND: Next question, Margaret Brennan, CBS News.

QUESTION: Thank you. On Iran, it’s continuing to pursue a nuclear program and negotiations have stalled. Specifically, what steps is China willing to take to prevent the pursuit of a nuclear weapon?

And on Syria, China at the Security Council has blocked any outside intervention to stop the ongoing violence. Is there any agreement on how to bring about a political transition?

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (Via interpreter.) On the question of nuclear issues in the Middle East, I wish to emphasize that China is opposed to the efforts of any country, including Iran, to develop nuclear weapons. At the same time, we believe the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through diplomatic negotiations. We believe there is positive value in the P-5+1 dialogue with Iran, whatever form it may take. We believe the parties should continue to exercise calm and be committed to diplomatic negotiations.

Some parties have put forward some proposals. They need to be studied seriously. The positive elements in those proposals should be taken seriously and be incorporated. China has been active and serious in our participation in P-5+1 dialogue with Iran. And in our contact with various parties, we’ve been emphasizing that there should be a clear and objective reading of the situation. China stands ready to stay in close contact, communication, and coordination with the United States and other relevant parties on the Iranian nuclear issue.

China strictly abides by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Of course, all along we have been opposed to unilateral sanctions. When such sanctions affect other countries and damage other countries’ interests, it is something we cannot accept. Although there might be some divergent views between China, the United States, or others on the Iranian issue, we believe there is an ongoing momentum of exchange, communication, and cooperation. And we hope to sustain the momentum of exchanges and cooperation with the relevant parties. China will continue to work persistently for the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

On the question of Syria, I wish to emphasize that although Mr. Kofi Annan has stepped down as the Joint Special Envoy, but it is the general view of the international community that his six-point plan should continue to be implemented. Secretary Clinton and I and the foreign ministers of some other countries took part in the Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Action Group for Syria, which took place in Geneva. Like many countries, China shares the view that the communique of that foreign ministers meeting has positive significance for appropriately handling and resolving the Syrian issue. And we are willing to ramp up communication with the relevant countries in the UN Security Council and to carry out coordination. And the relevant UN Security Council resolutions regarding Syria should be implemented in earnest.

Although the situation is very complex, China has been emphasizing all along that the various parties should arrive at a cessation of fire and an end to violence, and the various parties in Syria should begin a political dialogue. And like many countries, we support a period of political transition in Syria.

We also believe that any solution should come from the people of Syria and reflect their wishes. It should not be imposed from outside. We are all member-states of the United Nations. We believe that on the question of Syria the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be upheld and implemented, especially the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.

And on the question of Syria, let me emphasize that China is not partial to any individual or any party. I think history will judge that China’s position on the Syrian question is a promotion of the appropriate handling and resolution of the Syria issue. For what we have in mind is the interest of the people in Syria and the region and the interest of peace, stability, and development in the region and around the world.

The various countries have some differing views on the issue of Syria. I believe the parties need to increase their consultation, all for the sake of peace, stability, and development in the region as well as the well being of the Syrian people.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much for your question. And before I turn to Syria, let me just say we have worked very closely with China in the P-5+1 and in the Security Council to create unprecedented pressure on the Iranian Government.

With respect to Syria, it is no secret that we have been disappointed by Russia and China’s actions blocking tougher UN Security Council resolutions, and we hope to continue to unite behind a real path forward to end the violence in Syria. We share the goal of wanting to see the violence end and the political transition begin, and we are discussing additional ways we can bring that about.

We believe that the situation in Syria is a threat to peace and stability in the entire region, and the longer the conflict goes on the greater the risk that it spills over borders and destabilizes neighboring countries. We have already seen dangerous clashes in Lebanon and growing tensions in Turkey and Jordan. We have discussed with our Chinese counterparts the need to respond to the UN’s appeal for contributions to support the humanitarian needs of the people. The best course of action remains to unite the Security Council behind real consequences if President Assad continues to brutalize his own people and threaten the security of the region.

I agree with the Foreign Minister that the communique issued as a result of our meeting in Geneva is a very useful framework for moving forward, and we will continue to consult to see whether that is something that the Security Council itself could adopt as a message to the government and the opposition about what is expected.

Meanwhile, the United States will continue to work with a growing group of likeminded nations to support the Syrian opposition and plan for the day after Assad goes, because we are convinced that he will. Thank you.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter.) Final question, Xinhua News Agency.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter.) I have a question for Foreign Minister Yang. We’ve taken note of the repeated statements from both China and the United States on various occasions that both sides are committed to building a cooperative partnership and to exploring a new type of major country relationship. But we also see that from time to time the two countries have disputes on some economic and trade issues. Some people even posit that confrontation between China and the United States is inevitable. How do you look at this?

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (Via interpreter.) Before answering this question, please allow me to make some additional points regarding the Iranian nuclear issue.

The UN Secretary General and the Arab League have appointed a new Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Brahimi. Recently, I talked with him on the phone. I said in the phone call that China fully supports his mediation efforts, and we hope all the parties will also support his mediation efforts so that there can be an appropriate and peaceful solution to the situation in Syria.

We hope that members of the international community will bring their positive influence to bear and get the various parties in Syria to adopt a realistic, calm, and constructive attitude so that there can be an early beginning of political dialogue and transition in that country. A Syria that is peaceful, stable, and enjoying development, bringing benefits to the people of not just that country but also the region.

And we pay very close attention to the humanitarian issue surrounding Syria. We have already channeled humanitarian assistance to some people in Syria in plight, and we will provide assistance to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and some other countries.

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of Mr. Nixon’s visit to China and the issuance of the Shanghai Communique. In these 40 years, the China-U.S. relationship has gone through a lot, but generally speaking it has been continuously moving forward, bringing tangible benefits to the people of our two countries and contributing to peace, stability, and development in the world. President Hu Jintao and President Obama have had 12 face-to-face meetings, and they have reached important consensus on working together to push forward a China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit and on working together to explore the construction of a new type of major country relationship. This points the direction for the further development of our bilateral relationship. The various government departments in both countries should redouble efforts to implement this joint vision of our presidents.

The economic relationship between China and the United States is an important driving force of our overall relationship. In the economic exchanges between two large nations such as ours, it is quite inevitable that there might be some disputes or even frictions. We hope that both sides will act in the spirit of openness and appropriately handle and resolve these issues through consultation. Actually, the two sides have already made some important progress in that regard.

China and the United States differ from each other in our histories, our cultures, ideologies, social systems, and actual national conditions. So it’s impossible for our two countries to see eye to eye on all the issues, but we believe that the mutual respect for each other’s core interests and major concerns is an important precondition for the steady and smooth development of our bilateral relationship. If we can stay focused on that, then we can overcome various disputes or frictions and their distraction to the relationship and maintain the dialogue and cooperation, which is the primary facet of our relationship and to make sure this relationship will continue to be mutually beneficial going forward.

It is apparent to all that China has made important progress in its human rights. On the basis of mutual respect and nonintervention in other’s internal affairs, we’d like to continue to have human rights dialogue with the United States and some other countries.

Like many countries, China is also a victim of cyber attacks. We’d like to work with the United States and some others to step up our communication and cooperation with respect to ensuring cyber security.

And China is making continuous efforts towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the maintenance of peace and stability on the Peninsula. We support the efforts of the relevant countries to maintain and increase dialogue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In short, history and facts has repeatedly proven that China and the United States have interwoven interests, and cooperation will benefit both sides where confrontation will hurt both sides. It has been China’s clear choice to work to promote our cooperative partnership with the United States on the basis of the three joint communiques and joint statements. This will serve the fundamental interests of people in both countries, and it is what the international community expects us to do in the 21^st century.

Thank you.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter.) This brings us to the end of the joint press conference. I want to thank Foreign Minister Yang and Secretary Clinton.

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: (Via interpreter) Madam Secretary, on behalf of the Chinese Government, a warm welcome on your visit to China. Madam Secretary, we place high importance on your visit. Tomorrow, several Chinese leaders will have meetings with you. In recent years, the China-U.S. relationship has maintained stability and achieved development, and we have made important progress in some areas.

Maintaining the healthy and steady development of our relationship serves the fundamental interests of our two countries and two peoples and is conducive to stability, peace, and development in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. China stands ready to work with the U.S. side, guided by the joint vision of our two presidents to further push forward the China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit and to explore a new type of major country relationship.

This evening, I’d be happy to exchange views with you on how to further push forward our bilateral relationship and on some important international and regional issues. Again, warm welcome to China.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Minister Yang, thank you for that warm welcome on behalf of my delegation and myself. We are very pleased to be, once again, in China to have this opportunity to exchange views. We are committed to building a cooperative partnership with China; it is a key aspect of our rebalancing in the Asia Pacific. And we have had a lot of in depth consultations and high-level meetings over the last three and a half years. Just this past year, we had the fourth session of our Strategic and Economic Dialogue and a 12^th meeting between our two presidents. And we continue to stress the importance of the practical cooperation that underlies our comprehensive relationship.

So again, tonight we’ll have a chance to explore issues in our bilateral relationship as well as regional and international matters that are of importance. So thank you again for the warm welcome to this new foreign ministry building.

The Department of State, the embassy, and consulates general in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan consistently urged the government to expand the scope of religious freedom in accordance with the rights codified in the constitution and internationally recognized norms. U.S. officials criticized abuses of religious freedom, acknowledged positive trends, and met with religious believers, family members of religious prisoners, and religious freedom defenders. The embassy protested the imprisonment of individuals on charges related to their religious practices and other abuses of religious freedom. Since 1999 the secretary of state has designated the country as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. On August 18, the secretary redesignated the country as a CPC.

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Principal human rights problems reported during the year were corruption and violence against women and children.

During the year the authorities indicted more than 400 officials, including 54 high-ranking officials, on corruption charges. There were no reports of impunity.

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Deterioration in key aspects of the country’s human rights situation continued. Repression and coercion, particularly against organizations and individuals involved in rights advocacy and public interest issues, were routine. Individuals and groups seen as politically sensitive by the authorities continued to face tight restrictions on their freedom to assemble, practice religion, and travel. Efforts to silence political activists and public interest lawyers were stepped up, and, increasingly, authorities resorted to extralegal measures including enforced disappearance, “soft detention,” and strict house arrest, including house arrest of family members, to prevent the public voicing of independent opinions. Public interest law firms that took on sensitive cases continued to face harassment, disbarment of legal staff, and closure. The authorities increased attempts to limit freedom of speech and to control the press, the Internet, and Internet access. The authorities continued severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Tibetan areas. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the visit of foreign officials, sensitive anniversaries, and in response to Internet-based calls for “Jasmine Revolution” protests.

As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. Other human rights problems during the year included: extrajudicial killings, including executions without due process; enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, including prolonged illegal detentions at unofficial holding facilities known as “black jails”; torture and coerced confessions of prisoners; detention and harassment of lawyers, journalists, writers, dissidents, petitioners, and others who sought to peacefully exercise their rights under the law; a lack of due process in judicial proceedings; political control of courts and judges; closed trials; the use of administrative detention; restrictions on freedom to assemble, practice religion, and travel; failure to protect refugees and asylum seekers; pressure on other countries to forcibly return citizens to China; intense scrutiny of and restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination against women, minorities, and persons with disabilities; a coercive birth limitation policy that in some cases resulted in forced abortion or forced sterilization; trafficking in persons; prohibitions on independent unions and a lack of protection for workers’ right to strike; and the use of forced labor, including prison labor. Corruption remained widespread.

The authorities prosecuted a number of abuses of power, particularly with regard to corruption. However, the internal disciplinary procedures of the CCP were opaque, and it was not clear whether human rights and administrative abuses were consistently punished.

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As these interests have grown, and as China has assumed new roles and responsibilities in the international community, China’s military modernization is, to an increasing extent, focusing on investments in military capabilities that would enable China’s armed forces to conduct a wide range of missions, including those farther from China. Even as the PLA is contending with this growing array of missions, preparing for contingencies in the Taiwan Strait remains the principal focus and driver of much of China’s military investment. In this context, over the past year, the PLA continued to build the capabilities and develop the doctrine it considers necessary to deter Taiwan from declaring independence; to deter, delay, and deny effective U.S. intervention in a potential cross-Strait conflict; and to defeat Taiwan forces in the event of hostilities.

To support the PLA’s expanding set of roles and missions, China’s leaders in 2011 sustained investment in advanced cruise missiles, short and medium range conventional ballistic missiles, anti-ship ballistic missiles, counterpace weapons, and military cyberspace capabilities which appear designed to enable anti-access/ area-denial (A2/AD) missions, or what PLA strategists refer to as “counter intervention operations.” The PLA also continued to demonstrate improved capabilities in advanced fighter aircraft, as evidenced by the inaugural flight testing of the J-20 stealth fighter; limited power projection, with the launch of China’s first aircraft carrier for sea trials; integrated air defenses; undersea warfare; nuclear deterrence and strategic strike; improved command and control; and more sophisticated training and exercises across China’s air, naval, and land forces.

Underscoring the extent to which China’s leaders are increasingly looking to the PLA to perform missions that go beyond China’s immediate territorial concerns, over the past year the PLA deployed assets to support non-combatant evacuation operations from Libya, extended its presence in the Gulf of Aden for a third year of counterpiracy operations, took on leadership roles in United Nations peace operations, and conducted medical exchanges and a service mission to Latin America and the Caribbean using the PLA Navy’s hospital ship.

During their January 2011 summit, President Barack Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao committed to work together to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual bene!t. Within that framework, the U.S. Department of Defense seeks to build a military-to-military relationship with China that is healthy, stable, reliable, and continuous. Strengthening the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship is a part of shaping China’s choices by encouraging it to cooperate with the United States and its allies and partners in the delivery of international public goods, including in such endeavors as counterpiracy, international peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. As the United States builds a stronger foundation for a military-tomilitary relationship with China, it also will continue to monitor China’s evolving military strategy, doctrine, and force development. In concert with Allies and partners, the United States will continue adapting its forces, posture, and operational concepts to maintain a stable and secure Asia-Paci!c security environment.

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We have made significant progress on the economic front since early 2009. U.S. exports have almost doubled. The Chinese currency has appreciated significantly. China’s trade surplus has fallen substantially.

Our discussions here in Beijing focused on two broad areas:

•Creating a more level playing field with expanding opportunities for trade and investment.

•Implementing the next generation of China’s economic reforms.

Let me quickly review a few examples of the progress we have made.

China is taking a number of steps to improve the protection of intellectual property rights, trade secrets and trademarks. These steps include a national effort to increase enforcement and increase government purchases of legitimate computer software.

China has agreed to work with us to negotiate new rules to limit export subsidies.

China has agreed to expand opportunities for foreign securities firms in China and auto finance companies.

China is undertaking reforms of its tariffs and taxes on imported goods, which will expand consumption and imports.

China is considering reforms that will reduce the privileges currently enjoyed by its state-owned enterprises.

China is beginning a range of broader financial reforms, starting with those in Wenzhou, which are designed to create a more modern financial system in which the market rather than the state plays a central role in the allocation of investment.

And China has acted to move toward a more flexible exchange rate system in which the market plays a greater role. It is intervening less in exchange markets.   China is also moving to liberalize controls on the international use of its currency and on capital movements into and out of the country.

These steps are significant and promising and, we believe, will lead to further appreciation in the exchange rate over time against the dollar and the other major currencies.

These broader economic reforms– to the exchange rate system, the financial system, the state-owned enterprises, and the existing mix of taxes and tariffs,–are necessary to advance China’s objectives of rebalancing economic growth, encouraging consumption, and reducing reliance on exports.

We welcome these changes, as well as the recent increase in Chinese business investment in the United States, the closer integration of our two economies, the greater role assumed by China in the IMF, the World Bank, and other international institutions.

These important steps do not resolve all of our concerns, or China's, but they do represent progress that translates into greater opportunities for U.S. workers and companies.

In 2009, at the outset of our first S&ED, President Obama said: "I have no illusion that the United States and China will agree on every issue, nor see the world the same way…but that only makes dialogue more important–so that we can know each other better, and communicate our concerns with candor."

President Obama and President Hu have made a very substantial and important investment over these past three years in strengthening our economic relationship and our cooperation on global economic issues.

The specific areas of progress I have just reviewed are the result of that investment. They reflect our commitment to continue to work closely with China.

Mr. Vice Premier, Secretary Clinton today held the third round of Consultation on People to People Exchange with State Councilor Liu.

I was a beneficiary of a similar initiative 30 years ago, when I came to Beijing to study China and the Mandarin language.  

As I was able to do then, those of us responsible for this important economic and strategic relationship have worked hard to better understand the interests and the intentions of our two nations and to better understand the challenges we face in our own countries.

We have our differences and we each face different challenges, but we are committed to building a strong relationship that can allow us to continue to make progress on those challenges.

Thank you.