She is old，because she is a big Oriental country with a civilization stretching back several thousand years. With diligence and wisdom，the Chinese nation created a splendid civilization and made significant contributions to the progress of humanity.
She is young，because the People’s Republic is just 60 years old，and the country began reform and opening-up only 30 years ago. The Chinese people established the New China after unremitting struggles and ultimately found a development path suited to China’s national conditions through painstaking efforts. This is the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Following this path，our ancient civilization has been rejuvenated.
The key element of China’s reform and opening-up is to free people’s minds and the most fundamental and significant component is institutional innovation. Through economic reform，we have built a socialist market economy，where the market plays a primary role in allocating resources under government macro-regulation. We have carried out political reform，promoted democracy and improved the legal system. People are the masters of the country. We run the country according to law and endeavor to build a socialist country under the rule of law.
The essence of China’s reform and opening-up is to put people first and meet their ever growing material and cultural needs through releasing and developing productive forces. It aims to give everyone equal opportunities for all-round development. It aims to protect the democratic rights of the people and promote stability，harmony and prosperity across the land. And it aims to safeguard the dignity and freedom of everyone so that he or she may pursue happiness with ingenuity and hard work.
Over the past three decades，more than 200 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty，the average life expectancy has increased by 5 years，and the 83 million people with disabilities in China have received special care from the government and society. All this points to the tremendous efforts China has made to protect human rights. We have introduced free nine-year compulsory education throughout the country，established the cooperative medical system in the rural areas and improved the social safety net. The age-old dream of the Chinese nation is being turned into reality a dream to see the young educated，the sick treated and the old cared for.
I want to quote from a Tang Dynasty poem to describe what is happening in China，“From shore to shore it is wide at high tide，and before fair wind a sail is lifting.”The Chinese people are working hard to modernize their country. This is a great practice in a large developing country both ancient and new. The Chinese people，with destiny in their own hands，are full of confidence in their future.
My beloved motherland is a country that stood numerous vicissitudes but never gave up.
Earlier in my career，I worked in northwest China for many years. There，in the boundless desert，grows a rare variety of tree called euphratespoplar. Rooted over 50 meters down into the ground，they thrive in hostile environments，defying droughts，sandstorms and salinization. They are known as the“hero tree”，because a euphrates poplar can live for a thousand years. Even after it dies，it stands upright for a thousand years，and even after it falls，it stays intact for another thousand years. I like the euphrates poplar because they symbolize the resilience of the Chinese nation.
Over the millennia，the Chinese nation has weathered numerous disasters，both natural and man-made，surmounted all kinds of difficulties and challenges，and made her way to where she proudly stands today. The longsufferings have only made her a nation of fortitude and perseverance. The experience of the Chinese nation attests to a truth：what a nation loses in times of disaster will be made up for by her progress.
I am reminded of the experience that I had in Wenchuan，Sichuan Province after the devastating earthquake there last May. That earthquake shocked the whole world. It flattened Beichuan Middle School and claimed many young lives. But only 10 days after the earthquake，when I went there for the second time，I had before my eyes new classrooms built on debris by local villagers with planks. Once again，the campus echoed with the sound of students reading aloud. I wrote down 4 Chinese characters on the blackboard，meaning“A country will emerge stronger from adversities.”I have been to Wenchuan seven times since the earthquake and witnessed countless touching scenes like this. I am deeply moved by the unyielding spirit of my people. This great national spirit is the source of strength which has enabled the Chinese nation to emerge from all the hardships stronger than before.
With hard work over the past half century and more，China has achieved great progress. Its total economic output is now one of the largest in the world. However，we remain a developing country and we are keenly aware of the big gap that we have with the developed countries. There has been no fundamental change in our basic national condition：a big population，weak economic foundation and uneven development. China’s per capita GDP ranks behind 100 countries in the world and is only about 1/18 that of Britain.Those of you who have been to China as tourists must have seen the modern cities，but our rural areas are still quite backward.
