尊敬的各位同事，尊敬的各位來賓！

女士們、先生們，朋友們，大家晚上好！

Distinguished Colleagues,

Dear Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

在亞太經合組織第二十二次領導人非正式會議召開之際，大家不遠萬里來到北京，用中國人的話來說，就是大家有緣分，有緣千里來相會。

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.

首先我代表中國政府和人民，代表我的夫人，也以我個人的名義對各位貴賓的到來表示熱烈的歡迎！

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!

剛才我在門口迎接大家，看到各位都穿上中國式服裝，既充滿了中國傳統元素，又體現了現代氣息，讓我們更感親近。中國老百姓看了以后，也會感到親切，會感到各位就像到鄰居家串門，來朋友家敘舊一樣。特別是各位女士的服飾格外鮮麗，群芳薈萃、姹紫嫣紅，為今天的晚宴增加了一道亮麗的風景線。我們現在所在的地方叫水立方，對面是鳥巢，這兩個建筑一方一圓，這蘊含著天圓地方中國的哲學理念，形成了陰陽平衡的統一。中國舉辦2008年北京奧運會的時候，水上的項目比賽就在這里舉行的，那一次共產生了44枚金牌，創造了25項世界紀錄，很多來自在座的各成員的選手，這里創造了超越自我的奇跡。今天在座的領導人，有的當年就參加了北京奧運會的開幕式。

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.

這幾天我每天早晨起來以后的第一件事，就是看看北京空氣質量如何，希望霧霾小一些，以便讓各位遠方的客人到北京是感覺舒適一點。好在是人努力天幫忙啊，這幾天北京空氣質量總體好多了，不過我也擔心我這個話說早了，但愿明天的天氣也還好。這幾天北京空氣質量好，是我們有關地方和部門共同努力的結果，來之不易。我要感謝各位，也感謝這次會議，讓我們下了更大的決心，來保護生態環境，有利于我們今后把生態環境保護工作做得更好。也有人說，現在北京的藍天是APEC藍，美好而短暫，過了這一陣就沒了，我希望并相信通過不懈的努力，APEC藍能夠保持下去。

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.

謝謝，我們正在全力進行污染治理，力度之大，前所未有，我希望北京乃至全中國都能夠藍天常在，青山常在，綠水常在，讓孩子們都生活在良好的生態環境之中，這也是中國夢中很重要的內容。

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，女士們、先生們、朋友們，我們之所以選擇水立方來舉行這個晚宴，是因為水在中國文化中具有重要的象征意義。2000多年前，老子說：“上善若水，水利萬物而不爭”，意思就是說最高境界的善行就像水一樣涓涓細流，澤被萬物。亞太經合組織以太平洋之水結緣，我們有責任使太平洋成為太平之洋，友誼之洋，合作之洋，見證亞太地區和平、發展、繁榮、進步。

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.

這是一個富有意義的夜晚，我們為亞太長遠發展的共同使命而來，應該以此為契機，一起勾畫亞太長遠發展愿景，確定亞太未來合作方向。明天我們將相會在燕山腳下雁棲湖畔，正式拉開領導人會議的序幕?？鬃诱f：“智者樂水，仁者樂山”，那兒有山有水，大家可以智者見智，仁者見仁，共商亞太發展大計，共謀亞太合作愿景。

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.

現在我提議，大家共同舉杯，為亞太地區繁榮進步，為亞太經合組織蓬勃發展，為這次領導人非正式會議圓滿成功，為各位嘉賓和家人的健康干杯！

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!