Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your warm welcome, and let me begin by thanking…”

“Thank you very much. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your warm welcome, and let me begin by thanking Charles Wu for inviting me here today. I am honored to be joined not only by Secretary Daley but by Secretary Albright and Ambassador Barshefsky, from whom you have already heard, and the distinguished congressional delegation and our fine Ambassador, Jim Sasser. It is fitting that the American Chamber of Commerce here in Shanghai is the fastest growing one in Asia. Over the past 24 hours or so, I've had the chance to see examples of the kind of ingenuity and energy of those who live and work here, from the magnificent examples of architecture and culture to the people. Yesterday I hosted a discussion with a range of Chinese leaders in academia, in law, in the media, in culture and nongovernmental organizations, all working to create a more responsive, open, decentralized society. And also yesterday some of you may have heard the radio call-in show that I had, where the mayor joined me. It was very much like call-in shows in America. People were concerned about quite immediate issues, by and large. My favorite caller said he did not want to talk to the President; he wanted to talk to the mayor about traffic issues. [Laughter] One of the greatest American politicians in the last 50 years, the late Speaker Tip O'Neill, once told all of our Democrats in the House that all politics was local.…”