On March 23, 2001, US Vice President Richard Cheney met with visiting Vice Premier Qian Qichen of the State Council at the White House.

Cheney extended welcome to Qian on his visit to the United States. Qian conveyed the greetings from Vice President Hu Jintao to Cheney, for which Cheney expressed his gratitude. Cheney also asked Qian to convey his greetings to Hu.

Qian noted that China and the US resumed their contacts more than 30 years ago, adding that generally speaking, bilateral ties have been going forward despite some ups and downs. He emphasized that the three China-US communiqués jointly issued by the two sides have set the guiding principles for the development of bilateral ties and for the settlement of disputes. He stated that the Taiwan question has all along been the most important and sensitive core issue in China-US relations. The way of handling of this issue directly bears on the development of bilateral relations in the new century. It is China's hope that the US side will solve the Taiwan question properly and prudently.

Cheney recalled that he visited China for the first time back in 1975 as a principal member of President Ford's delegation, adding that he was very impressed by the development and changes of China during his visit to China for the second time after the lapse of more than 20 years. He noted that China's economy has been moving towards modernization and its people's living standard has been notably improving. He emphasized that US-China relationship will always be one of the most important relationships in the world in the coming decades. He noted that the new US administration attaches great importance to its relations with China and will continue to pursue the "one China" policy. He said that he himself looks forward to cooperating with the Chinese side in a bid to further consolidate and develop US-China relations.

The two sides also exchanged views on China's accession to the WTO and other issues of mutual concern.