尊敬的各位同事，尊敬的各位来宾！

女士们、先生们，朋友们，大家晚上好！

Distinguished Colleagues,

Dear Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

在亚太经合组织第二十二次领导人非正式会议召开之际，大家不远万里来到北京，用中国人的话来说，就是大家有缘分，有缘千里来相会。

Good evening! You have traveled long distances to Beijing, making this reunion possible on the eve of the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The Chinese people believe in destiny. In a sense, we are destined to meet here tonight.

首先我代表中国政府和人民，代表我的夫人，也以我个人的名义对各位贵宾的到来表示热烈的欢迎！

On behalf of the Chinese government and people, on behalf of my wife and in my own name, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to every one of you, my distinguished guests!

刚才我在门口迎接大家，看到各位都穿上中国式服装，既充满了中国传统元素，又体现了现代气息，让我们更感亲近。中国老百姓看了以后，也会感到亲切，会感到各位就像到邻居家串门，来朋友家叙旧一样。特别是各位女士的服饰格外鲜丽，群芳荟萃、姹紫嫣红，为今天的晚宴增加了一道亮丽的风景线。我们现在所在的地方叫水立方，对面是鸟巢，这两个建筑一方一圆，这蕴含着天圆地方中国的哲学理念，形成了阴阳平衡的统一。中国举办2008年北京奥运会的时候，水上的项目比赛就在这里举行的，那一次共产生了44枚金牌，创造了25项世界纪录，很多来自在座的各成员的选手，这里创造了超越自我的奇迹。今天在座的领导人，有的当年就参加了北京奥运会的开幕式。

When I greeted you a moment ago at the entrance, I saw that you were all dressed in Chinese attire. With both Chinese cultural elements and a modern touch, the attire brings us much closer together. The Chinese people will be delighted to see you in local-style dress and see you as friends and neighbors coming to visit us at home. Let me mention the ladies especially. Gaily dressed in a riot of colors, you are particularly glamorous tonight. Your presence has lit up this banquet hall. The place we’re at is called the “Water Cube”; across the street is the National Stadium, better known as the “Bird’s Nest”. The one has a square exterior, the other is round in shape. Ancient Chinese saw earth as square and heaven as round. These two structures, standing next to each other, are a perfect illustration of balance and harmony. The Water Cube served as the National Aquatics Center during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Forty-four gold medals were awarded here, and this place saw the creation of 25 new world records. Many athletes from the economies you represent excelled in the competition and created one sporting miracle after another. Some of the APEC Economic Leaders present tonight also attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

这几天我每天早晨起来以后的第一件事，就是看看北京空气质量如何，希望雾霾小一些，以便让各位远方的客人到北京是感觉舒适一点。好在是人努力天帮忙啊，这几天北京空气质量总体好多了，不过我也担心我这个话说早了，但愿明天的天气也还好。这几天北京空气质量好，是我们有关地方和部门共同努力的结果，来之不易。我要感谢各位，也感谢这次会议，让我们下了更大的决心，来保护生态环境，有利于我们今后把生态环境保护工作做得更好。也有人说，现在北京的蓝天是APEC蓝，美好而短暂，过了这一阵就没了，我希望并相信通过不懈的努力，APEC蓝能够保持下去。

These days, the first thing I do in the morning is to check the air quality in Beijing, hoping that the smog won’t be too bad, so that our distinguished guests will be more comfortable while you’re here. Fortunately with the efforts of our people and the cooperation of the weather, air quality in Beijing in the recent couple of days is much better than before. Well, this may be a premature conclusion, but I do hope and pray the weather tomorrow will turn out just fine! The improved air quality, which is not easy to secure, is the result of the combined efforts of nearby provinces and cities and relevant government agencies. Here I want to say “thank you” to all those who have helped to make it a reality. And I want to thank the APEC meeting for prompting us to be even more determined to protect the environment. We will do a better job at protecting the environment in the future. Some people call the clear Beijing sky these days “the APEC blue” and say it is beautiful but temporary, and it will be gone soon after the APEC meeting. I hope and believe that, with persistent efforts, the APEC blue will be here to stay.

谢谢，我们正在全力进行污染治理，力度之大，前所未有，我希望北京乃至全中国都能够蓝天常在，青山常在，绿水常在，让孩子们都生活在良好的生态环境之中，这也是中国梦中很重要的内容。

My government is making an unprecedented, all-out effort to clean up pollution. My hope is that every day we will see a blue sky, green mountains and clear rivers not just in Beijing, but all across China, so that our children will live in an enjoyable environment. This is a very important part of the Chinese Dream.

各位同事，女士们、先生们、朋友们，我们之所以选择水立方来举行这个晚宴，是因为水在中国文化中具有重要的象征意义。2000多年前，老子说：“上善若水，水利万物而不争”，意思就是说最高境界的善行就像水一样涓涓细流，泽被万物。亚太经合组织以太平洋之水结缘，我们有责任使太平洋成为太平之洋，友谊之洋，合作之洋，见证亚太地区和平、发展、繁荣、进步。

Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

We have chosen the Water Cube as the venue for this dinner because water has great symbolism in Chinese culture. Over 2,000 years ago, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu noted that “The supreme good is like water, which benefits all of creation without trying to compete with it.” True, water nourishes all things without them realizing it. We, APEC member economies, are brought together by the water of the Pacific Ocean. We have a shared responsibility to make the Pacific an ocean of peace, friendship and cooperation, an ocean that brings peace, development, prosperity and progress to the Asia-Pacific region.

这是一个富有意义的夜晚，我们为亚太长远发展的共同使命而来，应该以此为契机，一起勾画亚太长远发展愿景，确定亚太未来合作方向。明天我们将相会在燕山脚下雁栖湖畔，正式拉开领导人会议的序幕。孔子说：“智者乐水，仁者乐山”，那儿有山有水，大家可以智者见智，仁者见仁，共商亚太发展大计，共谋亚太合作愿景。

Tonight is an occasion of great significance. We meet here with the common purpose of sustaining the dynamic development of our region. We should use the APEC meeting as an opportunity to outline a long-term vision for the Asia-Pacific and chart the course for cooperation in our region. Tomorrow, we will meet by Yanqi Lake at the foot of Yanshan Mountains to kick off this year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Confucius, another ancient Chinese philosopher, observed that “The visionary find joy in water and the wise find joy in mountains.” Our meeting-place tomorrow has both water and mountain. I hope you will all share your vision and wisdom on the future development of the Asia-Pacific and the prospects of our cooperation.

现在我提议，大家共同举杯，为亚太地区繁荣进步，为亚太经合组织蓬勃发展，为这次领导人非正式会议圆满成功，为各位嘉宾和家人的健康干杯！

Now please join me in a toast:

To the prosperity and progress of the Asia-Pacific region;

To the dynamic growth of APEC;

To the crowning success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting;

and

To the health of every one of you and your family.

干杯！

Cheers!