Clinton said that the United States had a fundamental interest in promoting building prosperity and partnership in Asia. The key is getting China relationship right, and China's entry into the WTO would not only increase China's prosperity, but also increase its interdependence with the rest of the world, he stressed.

Now, China is prepared to undertake this journey, Clinton noted, adding that "it is imperative to complete China's accession into WTO at the earliest possible date."

"The central reality of our time is not the digital chip and even the explosion in biological revelations, but it is the growing interdependence, shared opportunities and shared challenges, which increasingly become even more important," he said.

"This kind of interdependence requires us to continue the work towards solutions which, in parlance of game theory, are win, win rather than win, lose," he said.

Clinton said that there are always difficulties and bumps on the road in the U.S.-China relationship. "But the important thing is not to assume this relationship is inherently adversarial but instead to take what we know is true," he said.

"The world will be a better place over the next 50 years if we are partners, if we are working together," he stressed.

(People's Daily 05/10/2001)