各位新老朋友们，早上好，晚上好。很高兴能够和《环球时报》以及美国卡特中心合作举办第五届中美青年学者论坛。

Good morning and good evening, my old friends and new friends. It's a great pleasure to work with the Global Times and the Carter Center to host the 5th Young Scholars Forum on China-US Relations.

本届论坛非常特殊，因为恰逢中美关系的关键时刻。之所以说关键，是因为中美关系在未来几个月中的走向可能会导致两国关系的弥合或破裂。非常遗憾的是，破裂的概率非常高。

This forum is special in that it convenes at a critical moment of China-US relations. I say it is critical because how the relationship evolves in the next few months may lead to the mending or the breaking of the relationship. I'm sorry to say that the chance of breaking of the relationship is pretty high.

我们都知道中美关系非常重要。中国和美国都是伟大的国家，为人类做出了巨大的贡献。因为两国都是大国，今日做的决定必然会以某种形式改变世界，产生前所未有的影响。为了避免灾难发生，两国都要冷静下来，谨慎地审视自身利益和目标。

We all know that the relationship is very important. China and the US are great countries in that both have made huge contributions to humanity. Given the size of the two countries, the choice they make today will change the world one way or the other in an unprecedented way. To avoid disaster, they need to calm down and carefully calibrate their interests and ambitions.

双方的利益真的如两国某些人士所说的那样彼此冲突，不可调和吗？我认为并非如此。两国都是当前国际秩序的利益攸关方，有许多共同的利益和追求。两国不是敌人，也没有理由成为敌人。当然，两国之间的确存在很多的分歧。但是双方的共同利益以及价值观远远超过这些分歧。

Are they so different and diametrically opposed as some in both countries argue? My answer is no. Both countries are stakeholders in the existing world order and share many same interests and aspirations. They are not enemies, and there is no good reason for them to be enemies. Sure. They have differences, many differences. However, their shared interests and values far outweigh their differences.

当下流行用“竞争”这个词来形容中美关系，但是竞争也分很多种。广义上说，良性的竞争是为了把事情做得更好，比如经济增长、科技发展、消除贫困、保护环境的竞争，以及用富有创造力的方式来应对全球挑战。另一种则是恶性竞争，目的是为了破坏、摧毁另一方。中美都是超级大国，都拥有核武器，恶性竞争对两国而言都是一场灾难。显然，良性竞争比恶性竞争更可取，因为这样造福的不仅是两个国家，更是全世界。

The popular word to describe the relationship now is competition, but there are different kinds of competition. Broadly speaking, there is benign competition for doing things better, such as competition, economic growth, science and technology development, poverty elimination, environmental protection, and coming up with creative ideas and efforts to deal with global challenges. There is also vicious competition with an end to undermine and destroy the other side. Given the fact that both are very large countries and with nuclear weapons, that's a disaster for both countries. The former, apparently and obviously, is infinitely more desirable than the latter, because it will not only benefit both countries, but also the world.

未来总是掌握在年轻人的手里。如果年轻人参与其中，探索管理和改进两国关系的方式，未来就会往好的方向发展。正因如此，这次论坛非常重要，我们中外人文交流研究基地很荣幸能够参与论坛的组织工作。我相信接下来的演讲和讨论会有助于探讨中美所面临的一些问题。

The future is always in the hands of the young people. If they stay engaged and explore ways to manage and improve the relationship between the two countries, we have a positive future. That's why this forum is so important. That's why my institute is so proud to be involved in organizing this forum. I'm sure that the following presentations and discussions will help address some of these problems China and the US are facing.

借此机会我想感谢我的合作伙伴，《环球时报》和美国卡特中心，也感谢中美两国的新老朋友们参与这次论坛。预祝论坛圆满成功。

I want to take this opportunity to thank my partners, the Global Times and the Carter Center, and also to thank my old and new friends from China and the US to come to this forum. Wish the forum a great success.

谢谢。

Thank you. 

（贾庆国，全国政协常委、北京大学中外人文交流研究基地主任、北京大学国际关系学院教授。）