On September 22 local time, President Xi Jinping attended a welcome banquet jointly hosted by the government of Washington State and friendly groups of the US in Seattle, Washington State, the US, and delivered a speech. Xi Jinping emphasized that China adheres to the strategic layout of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepening reform, comprehensively implementing the rule of law, and comprehensively strengthening Party discipline, whereby China's economy will keep stable and relatively rapid development. Development remains the top priority of the contemporary China, and the fundamental way out for China's development is reform. China's door open to the outside will never close. China adheres to the road of peaceful development, and stands ready to work with other countries to build a new type of international relations centering on win-win cooperation. China and the US should stick to the right direction of building a new model of major-country relationship between themselves, and jointly create a better future for bilateral relations, so as to make greater contributions to the well-being of the two peoples and peoples of other countries in the world.

At about 5: 15 p.m. local time, Xi Jinping and his wife Mme. Peng Liyuan, accompanied by President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) John Frisbie and President of the National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR) Stephen Orlins, walked into the banquet hall, with all the present standing up to welcome them.

Amid warm applauses, Xi Jinping delivered an important speech. Xi Jinping pointed out that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, in particular the reform and opening-up, China has gone through an extraordinary course. The Chinese dream is the dream of the Chinese people and therefore can be achieved only when combined with the Chinese people's aspiration for happy life. We have taken more than 30 years to rank China's economic aggregates to the world's second, with over 1.3 billion people getting rid of material shortage, living a moderately prosperous life on the whole and enjoying unprecedented dignity and rights. This is not only a manifestation of tremendous change of the Chinese people's life and great progress in human civilization, but also an indication of China's significant contributions to the cause of world peace and development. Meanwhile, we are also clearly aware that China remains the biggest developing country in the world, and thus the Chinese people still need to make continual and arduous efforts to live a good life. Development remains the first priority of the contemporary China. The primary mission of China's government is to concentrate efforts on the improvement of people's living standards and gradual realization of common prosperity.

Xi Jinping emphasized that China's economy will maintain steady and relatively rapid development. The first half of this year witnessed a growth of 7 percent in China's economy, and this growth rate remains one of the highest in the world. China's economy is under downward pressure, but this is only a problem in the course of progress. We will make overall arrangements to stabilize growth, promote reform, adjust structure, benefit people's livelihood and prevent risks, plus strengthen and innovate macro regulation and control, so as to keep the economic growth at a medium-high speed. The government's duty is to ensure an open, fair and just market order. To develop the capital market and improve the market-based pricing mechanism of the RMB exchange rate is the direction of China's reform. This will not be changed by recent fluctuations in the stock market or the foreign exchange market.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the fundamental way out for China's development lies in reform, and China will never close its open door to the outside world. We will be bold enough to crack hard nuts and ford dangerous rapids during reform and steadfastly stick to the reform direction of market economy. We will protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors and work hard to create an open and transparent legal policy environment, an efficient administrative environment and a level-playing market environment.

Xi Jinping stressed that China persists in the basic strategy of the rule of law and the common advance of rule of law, governing by law and administrating by law, so as to constantly enhance judicial credibility and ensure that human rights are earnestly respected and safeguarded. China is a staunch defender of cyber security and also a victim of hacker attack. The international community should work together to build a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyberspace in the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust. China will continue fighting against corruption and is ready to cooperate actively with the international community in fighting against corruption and tracking down fugitives. The Chinese people hope to get support and coordination from the US in the respect so that corruptionists will be denied an overseas "safe haven".

Xi Jinping underlined that China will keep to the path of peaceful development. We have just commemorated the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. An enlightenment from the history is that peaceful development is the right path. China always pursues a national defense policy which is defensive in nature and a military strategy of active defense. China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion however it develops. We're willing to work with other countries to build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at its core. China is a participant, builder and contributor of the existing international system. We stand firmly by the international order and system centering on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. We will promote the international system to develop towards a more just and equitable direction, but it doesn't mean that we want to unravel the entire system or start all over again. Instead, what we want is to reform and improve the system to keep up with the times. China benefits its development from the international community and in turn will make its contributions to global development. Why we promote the co-construction of the "Belt and Road", set up the Silk Road Fund, propose to set up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and make other moves is to support the common development of all countries. We vigorously promote the economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, because we want to facilitate the shaping of a free and open, convenient and efficient and dynamic space for development in the Asia-Pacific. We call for an outlook of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, because we want to work with other countries in the region and the rest of the international community to maintain peace and security in the Asia-Pacific.

Xi Jinping pointed out that I met with President Barack Obama at the Annenberg Estate in 2013 and reached the important consensus on joining efforts to build a new model of major-country relationship between China and the US, which marks a significant strategic choice of both sides. To push forward a new model of China-US major-country relationship and join hands to promote world peace and development at a new starting point, there are several things to be done in particular. First, read each other's strategic intentions correctly. We stand ready to work with the US side to enhance the understanding of each other's strategic orientation and development path. We should stick to facts to prevent a rumor about one side from becoming the truth in the eyes of the other side, but we should not harbor arbitrary doubts and view the other side through colored lenses. Second, steadfastly promote win-win cooperation. Cooperation is the sole correct choice to gain interests. To cooperate, the two sides should take care of each other's interests and concerns and seek the greatest common divisor of cooperation. China and the US should and can cooperate in a wide range of fields. We should promote and improve the global governance mechanism, jointly boost the stable growth of the world economy and deepen communication and cooperation in multilateral mechanism, major international and regional topics and global challenges. Third, manage and control differences properly and effectively. It is only natural that China and the US have different views and disagreements on some topics. The key is that both sides should respect each other and seek common ground while reserving differences, adopt a constructive way to enhance understanding and expand consensus, and strive to turn contradictory points into cooperative ones. Fourth, extensively foster friendship between the two peoples. Country-to-country relations are fundamentally the relations between peoples. Peoples between China and the US enjoy time-honored friendship. The China-US friendship has its root in the people and its hope in the youth. The Chinese side supports both countries to send fifty thousand students to study in each other's country in the coming three years, and to hold the "China-US Year of Tourism" in 2016. China will create more favorable conditions for the friendly exchanges between the two peoples.

Governor of Washington State Jay Inslee, Chair of the USCBC Mark Fields, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Chair of the NCUSCR Carla A. Hills, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Mayor of Seattle Ed Murray, former US Ambassador to China Gary Locke and others delivered speeches successively. They noted that President Barack Obama and the US people were looking forward to President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US, and the international community also pays high attention to the visit. China's reform and opening up has achieved success in just a few decades under the wise leadership of Chinese leaders, the unswerving efforts of the Chinese people and the cooperation across the Pacific Ocean. The "two centenary goals" and the goal of the Chinese dream not only mark China's another great progress, but also will bring closer US-China ties in fields of economy and politics. In the economic sector, the economic growth of each other is becoming more and more interrelated to the other's interests, which requires win-win economic policies. In the political sector, we should elevate the US-China relations from the status of constant settlement of concrete problems to the height of building a new international order. President Xi Jinping's visit will be an important step in this process.

Wang Hujing, Li Zhanshu, Yang Jiechi and others attended the banquet.

The welcome banquet was co-hosted by Washington State and friendly groups including the USCBC and the NCUSCR. Approximately 800 people from the US government and the friendly groups presented at this banquet.