Mr. Prime Minster and all of your distinguished guests this evening: On behalf of all of your American guests, I wish to tank you for the incomparable hospitality for which the Chinese people are justly famous throughout the world. I particularly want to pay tribute, not only to those who prepared the magnificent dinner, but also to those who have provided  the splendid music. Never have I heard American music played better in a foreign land.

Mr. Prime Minster, I wish to thank you for your very gracious and eloquent remarks. At this very moment, through the wonder of telecommunications, more people are seeing and hearing what we say than on any other such occasion in the whole history of the world. Yet, what we  say here will not be long remembered. What we do here can change the world. As you said in your toast, the Chinese people are a great people, the American people are a great people. If our two peoples are enemies the future of this world we share together is dark indeed. But if we can find common ground to work together, the chance for world peace is immeasurably increased.

Mr. Prime Minster, I wish to thank you for your very gracious and eloquent remarks. At this very moment, through the wonder of  telecommunications, more people are seeing and hearing what we say than on any other such occasion in the whole history of the world. Yet, what we say here will not be long remembered. What we do here can change the world. As you said in your toast, the Chinese people are a great people, the American people are a great people.

If our two peoples are enemies the future of this world we share together is dark indeed. But if we can find common ground to work together, the chance for world peace is immeasurably increased. In the spirit of frankness which I hope will characterize our talks this week, let us recognize at the outset these points: we have at times in the past been enemies. We have great differences today. What brings us together is that we have common interests, which transcend those differences. As we discuss our differences, neither of us will compromise our principles. But while we cannot close the gulf between us, we can try to bridge it so that we may be able to talk across it.

 So, let us, in these next five days, start a long march together, not in  lockstep, but on different roads leading to the same goal, the goal of building a world structure of peace and justice in which all may stand together with equal dignity and in which each nation, large or small, has a right to determine its own form of government, free of outside interference or domination. The world watches, the world listens. The world waits to see what we will do. What is the world? In a personal sense, I think of my eldest daughter whose birthday is today. As I think of her, I think of all the children in the world, in Asia, in Africa, In Europe, in the Americas, most of whom were born since the date of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. What legacy shall we leave our children? Are  they destined to die for the hatreds which have plagued the old world, or are they destined to live because we had the vision to build a new world?

There is no reason for us to be enemies. Neither of us seeks the territory of the other; neither of us seeks domination over the other; neither of us seeks to stretch out our hands and rule the world. Chairman Mao has written, “So many deeds cry out to be done, and always urgently; The world rolls on, Time presses. Ten thousand years are too long, Seize the day, seize the hour!” This is the hour. This is the day for our two peoples to rise to the heights of greatness which can build a new and a better world. In that spirit, I ask all of you present to join me in raising your glasses to Chairman Mao, to Prime Minister Chou, and to the friendship of the Chinese and American people, which can lead to friendship and peace for all people in the world.

總理先生，今天在座的諸位貴賓:

我謹代表你們的所有美國客人向你們表示感謝,感謝你們的 無可比擬的盛情款待。中國人民以這種盛情款待而聞名世界。我不僅要特別攢揚那些準備了這次盛大晚宴的人, 而且還要讚揚那些給我們演奏這樣美好的音樂的人。我在外國從來沒有聽到過演奏得這麼好的美國音樂。

總理先生,我要感謝你的非常盛情和雄辯的講話。就在這個時刻，通過電訊的奇，看到和聽到我們講話的人比在整個世界歷史上任何其他這樣的場合都要多。不過，我們在這講的話，人們不會長久記住。我們在這所做的事卻能改變世界。正如你在祝酒時講的那樣，中國人民是偉大的人民，美國人民是偉大的人民。如果我們兩國人民是敵人的話，那麼我們共同居住的這個世界的前途就的確是黑暗的了。但是，如果我們能夠找到進行合作的共同點，那麼實現世界和平的機會就無可估量地大大增加。

我希望我們這個星期的會談將是坦率的。本著這種坦率的精神，讓我們一開始就認識到這樣幾點: 過去的一些時期我們曾是敵人。今天我們有巨大的分歧。使我們走到一起的，是我們有超過這些分歧的共同利益。在我們討論我們的分歧的時候，我們哪一方都不會在我們的原則上妥協。但是，雖然我們不能彌合我們之 間的鴻溝，我們卻能夠設法搭一座橋，以便我們能夠越過它進行會談。因此，讓我們在今後的五天裏在一起開始一次長征吧，不是在一起邁步，而是在不同的道路上向同一目標前進。這個目標就是建立一個和平和正義的世界結構，在這個世界結構中，所有的人都可以在一起享有同等的尊嚴;每個國家，不論大小，都有權利決定它自己的政府形式，而不受外來的干涉或統治。全世界在注視著，全世界在傾聽著,全世界在等待著看我們將做些甚麼。這個世界是甚麼呢?就個人來講，我想到全世界的兒童。亞洲、非洲、歐洲以及美洲的兒童，他們大多數都是在中華人民共和國成立以後出生的。

我們沒有理由要成為敵人。我們哪一方都不企圖取得對方的領土，我們哪一方都不企圖統治對方，我們哪一方都不企圖伸出手去統治世界。毛主席寫過:”多少事，從來急;天地轉，光陰迫。一萬年太久，只爭朝夕。”現在就是只爭朝夕的時候了，是我們兩國人民攀登那種可以 締造一個新的、更美好的世界的偉大境界的高峰的時候了。本著這種精神，我請求諸位同我一起舉杯，為毛主席，為周 總理，為能夠導致全世界所有人民的友誼與和和平的中國人民和 美國人民之間的友誼，乾杯。