Trump on Historic U.S.-China Relations

May 19—At the May 14, Thursday evening state banquet at the Great Hall of the People, U.S. President Donald Trump devoted his prepared remarks to a special relationship between the American and Chinese peoples stretching back to 1784. 

“The relationship between the American and Chinese people goes all the way back to America’s founding,” he said. "The first American Consul to China, Samuel Shaw, arrived on the first American trading ship to reach these shores in 1784. The Chinese merchants had a name for the Americans: they called their visitors the new people. Two and a half centuries later, that first connection has grown into one of the most consequential relationships in world history.

“From the beginning, our citizens have shared a deep sense of mutual respect. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin published the sayings of Confucius in his colonial newspaper. And today, a sculpture recognizing that ancient Chinese sage is carved into the face of the United States Supreme Court, very proudly.

“The appreciation ran in both directions. Chinese admirers of President George Washington gifted a stone tablet honoring his memory to adorn the Washington Monument. It bears the words of a Chinese official who called the great general and statesman ‘a hero among men.’

“And across the centuries this mutual esteem grew into a relationship that reflected the tremendous talent and potential of our two people. Chinese workers helped lay the railroad tracks that connected our Atlantic coast to the Pacific. American travelers to China helped spread literacy and modern medicine. And, at the request of China’s ambassador, it was President Theodore Roosevelt who provided the funds to establish President Xi’s alma mater, Tsinghua University.

“As allies in World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt’s mentions of the brave people of China—that’s what they were—drew loud cheers at his speeches in the United States, and everybody loved what he had to say.”

Pointing to everyday cultural exchange, he said, "Just as many Chinese now love basketball and blue jeans, Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined.

“This region and the world—it’s a special world with the two of us united and together.”