On the afternoon of September 21, 2001, US President Bush met with visiting Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in the Oval Office of the White House.

Tang first conveyed President Jiang Zemin’s greetings to President Bush. Bush expressed thanks and asked Tang to convey his greetings to Jiang.

Tang said that China attaches great importance to and is committed to developing China-US relations. It is believed that the summit between the two Presidents and Bush’s visit to China this fall will greatly promote China-US relations.

Bush congratulated China on its upcoming accession to the WTO. He said that both China and the US are great nations. He said that his visit to China this fall is of great importance. He looks forward to meeting with Jiang and believes that US-China relations will score further development.

Bush thanked President Jiang for the deep sympathy expressed by him on behalf of the Chinese government and people to the US government and people following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. He said that the US hopes to strengthen cooperation with China and other countries on the issue of anti-terrorism. The two sides exchanged views on how to promote China-US relations and strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation during the meeting.

On the same day, Dr. Rice, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, met with Foreign Minister Tang in the White House. Rice said that the US hopes to establish strong and fruitful relations with China. The US side hopes that the two countries will strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. The two sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern.