[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 27 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Pages 1244-1245]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 27, 1998

    Good morning. I'm speaking to you today from Beijing. In just 2 
days, I've seen some of the rich history and remarkable changes that are 
taking place in China, home to nearly one quarter of the world's 
population.
    China is the oldest civilization on Earth. In Xi'an, on Friday, I 
saw the old and the new China, from magnificent Terra Cotta Warriors 
sculpted by artisans 2000 years before America was founded to the 
beginnings of democracy in a nearby village where residents soon will 
hold elections.
    I've been touched by the warm reception given to me, my family, and 
the Members of Congress traveling with us. Tens of thousands of Chinese 
families have lined the streets to greet us. For all these people, China 
is changing. I see cell phones, beepers, new office buildings.
    China is no longer the same country it was when President Nixon 
first came here 26 years ago. Never before have so many Chinese had the 
opportunity to start businesses; lift their families out of poverty; 
choose where to live, work, and travel; and enjoy the fruits of their 
labors. But there's also resistance to change, the legacy of a history 
that has not always been kind to the Chinese people and has left a 
deeply rooted fear of instability.
    Today in Beijing I am meeting with China's leaders to talk about the 
future of our two countries and a relationship between us that is 
essential to a peaceful, stable, and prosperous world in the next 
century. We talked about the United States and China's mutual interests: 
promoting peace in Korea, where 40,000 U.S. soldiers still risk their 
lives to patrol the cold war's last frontier; preventing a nuclear arms 
race between India and Pakistan; restoring economic stability in Asia; 
stopping the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the 
missiles to deliver them; combatting international crime and drug 
trafficking; preserving the environment; and opening trade.
    We also spoke frankly about our differences, especially concerning 
human rights. Over the past year, we have seen some progress in this 
area, though still far from enough. Some of China's famous political 
prisoners have been released, but others still languish in prison. The 
Government is loosening its control over many aspects of daily life, yet 
people still are not completely free to meet, to publish, to speak, to 
worship according to the dictates of their own hearts.
    Throughout this trip, I will raise human rights and try to explain 
how freedom has been at the heart of America's success and prosperity. I 
will also argue that in this global information age, when economic 
success is built on ideas, personal freedom is necessary to the 
innovation and creativity that are essential to the greatness of any 
modern nation.
    In dealing with China, we must stay true to a course that is both 
principled and pragmatic. We must continue to expand our areas of 
cooperation, even as we deal directly with our differences.
    China is important to our future, with the largest population on 
Earth, a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an 
economy increasingly connected to our own. Without China, it will be 
difficult to face the challenges, successfully, that affect all of us. 
With China, we can build a safer, more prosperous future for our 
children, a world of unlimited possibility in the new century.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:30 p.m., Beijing time, on June 26 at 
the Diaoyutai residence in Beijing, China, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m., 
e.d.t., on June 27. This transcript was made available by the Office of 
the Press Secretary on

[[Page 1245]]

June 26 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.