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Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker welcomed President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Government delegation during a gala dinner with government and U.S. business leaders, organized by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Washington State Welcoming Committee, and the U.S.-China Business Council. Secretary Pritzker will join a number of events with American business leaders this week, serving as President Obama’s representative for the West Coast portion of Chinese President Xi’s visit to the United States.

Thank you, Mark for that warm introduction. And thank you to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Washington State Welcoming Committee, and the U.S.-China Business Council for organizing this event.

President Xi and Madame Peng: on behalf of President Obama, I would like to welcome you to the United States. This is the beginning of an important trip, and we know that people across the United States and China – and indeed around the world – are paying close attention.

Over the last three decades, China’s economic progress has been nothing short of extraordinary. In1980, China’s GDP stood at $202 billion. In 2014, it was over $10 trillion. In 1980, China’s total trade was $30 billion. In 2014, China’s total goods trade was $591 billion – with just the United States.

This growth was only possible because China’s leaders made difficult choices to open and reform their economy, to allow private enterprises to develop, to permit foreign companies to invest in China, and to give greater transparency to the Chinese system. The result of these reforms: astounding economic growth that helped to lift 600 million Chinese out of poverty and changed the face of the country.

Over the past thirty years, China has also benefited significantly from a rules-based international economic system and long-term investments from U.S. companies. Just last year, direct investments by American firms in China totaled over $60 billion. And this week, a number of significant deals are being announced alongside President Xi’s visit that exemplify American companies’ commitment to support China’s development both with capital and with world-class technologies.

Nevertheless, we – and our companies – continue to have serious concerns about an overall lack of legal and regulatory transparency, inconsistent protection of intellectual property, discriminatory cyber and technology policies, and more generally, the lack of a level playing field across a range of sectors.

We expect to have candid and constructive discussions on these matters in the coming days, but it is absolutely in our mutual economic self-interest to resolve these issues.

Today, China has the second largest economy on the planet, and as we have seen in recent weeks, China’s economic policy decisions have ramifications that are felt far beyond its shores. Years of bold and necessary Chinese reforms worked. They created a global exporting powerhouse.

But those reforms – and that model – will not support China’s growth at the level that the Chinese government wants and the world needs. Today, as the world’s second largest economy, China cannot maintain that growth with an export-driven model. There simply is not enough global demand.

This is an important moment. China’s leaders have an opportunity to demonstrate, through their actions, that they are committed to the compelling vision of the Third and Fourth Plenums, and that they are prepared to partner with the United States to support a rules-based international economic system.

We have heard news in recent days regarding reform of state owned enterprises, as well as a renewed commitment to easing restrictions on foreign investment and improving the domestic business environment. If these signals are any indication, China appears ready to take steps to accelerate its transition from export- and investment-led growth to greater reliance on Chinese households and consumers. If this transition becomes a reality, the Chinese people and the entire global economy stand to benefit greatly.

The Obama Administration is committed to having productive discussions with China, and we expect our conversations over the next several days to yield tangible progress in a number of important areas. But the measure of our relationship goes well beyond the basis of commitments in a fact-sheet.

We will evaluate our relationship based on progress we make expanding cooperation and constructively managing differences – and most importantly, on the actions each of us takes. We warmly welcome you and your delegation to the United States. President Obama, and the whole of the American people, look forward to this significant State visit.

We look forward to a productive and successful engagement.

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