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A changing China in eyes of a China hand

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-20 15:25

In contrast, the ambassador recalled, it was a very different picture in the 1950s as far as relationship between China and the United States was concerned.

"It was all about military. Everything was military then. There was little trade," he said, adding that the two countries fought with each other, directly or indirectly, throughout the region at that time.

"We had gone through this period of failure, pushing it aside, and now the emphasis has to be on the economic sector as the whole world depends on that," Lilley said.

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"Now we (the United States) and China are linked together. I don't think a creative future can be achieved without cooperation and competition between China and the United States," he said.

He was encouraged by the Strategic Economic Dialogue conducted between the two countries in the past few years which he said had brought important changes to the relationship.

Lilley listed the economic modernization based on cooperation as one of the major achievements China had gained in the past 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

But there are also some lessons for China to watch out in the future.

Lilley said China should take serious steps to deal with pollution which come along with fast economic growth.

Asked how China and the United States further increase mutual trust, Lilley spoke highly of the cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries in recent years.

"I think you did a good job. I think you've got a very enlightened cultural approach, an attempt to reach out the American people," he said.

"I heard the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra playing at the Kennedy Center (for the Performing Arts). It was from my old hometown. The Chinese invited me to come," Lilley said.

"It was a great performance for Qingdao," he recalled, saying that the city boasts a first-class symphony orchestra.

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