It is said that before US President George W. Bush visited China, the White House decided on an "ABC (Anything But Clinton)" strategy: Do nothing that former President Clinton did; say nothing that Clinton said during his Beijing visit in 1998. Therefore, unlike Clinton, Bush chose Tsinghua University, a university with the same academic power and reputation as Peking University, to make his debut before the public.

This is the third time for the US sitting president to give a speech at a university campus during a China visit since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1972. Even before Bush's Tsinghua trip and Clinton's speech at Peking University in 1998, as early as in 1984, President Reagan had started up the "communication between the US president and the Chinese youth" at Fudan University in Shanghai.

All of these activities cannot be regarded as boring modern diplomatic tricks or simply as "preaching given by the biggest American missionary." In any case, such distinctive countries as China and the United States do need all kinds of communications to "end scores of years' estrangement and dispel hundreds of years' mutual distrust." In this respect, no matter whether it is in the American or Chinese people's eyes, a speech on campus is entrusted with special tasks.

Before the young students who represent China's future, these US presidents might feel a totally different atmosphere from what they have experienced during the negotiations between the two states. Meanwhile, the Chinese students could have the opportunity to face the superpower's leaders, listen to their lectures, revise their preconceived ideas, and express their own opinions.

"He (President Bush) is different from what we have learned before through the media," said a Tsinghua student at the auditorium.

Such face-to-face communications make the concept of "seeking common ground while reserving differences" -- as China has always advocated -- more explicit and realistic. At least on these occasions, we can know clearly what the common ground is and what the differences between the two nations are.

As President Bush pointed out in his opening remarks, the founding of Tsinghua University is somewhat related to the United States. Arthur H. Smith was an American preacher engaged in missionary work, medical care, charities and education in the poorest areas of Tianjin and Shandong Province for more than 30 years. After returning home to seek donations in 1906, Smith lobbied hard in the Congress for his suggestion that US should invest the indemnity of more than US$20 million by the Chinese Qing government in the year of Gengzi (1900) in "undertakings benefiting China, and it is of special importance to use the money to subsidize Chinese students who are studying in the United States." Then US President Theodore Roosevelt agreed with the proposal, which was later approved by the US Congress. The founding of Tsinghua Xuetang (the predecessor of Tsinghua University) was based in part on the reimbursement by the US government mainly due to Smith's endeavors.

On February 22, in his welcoming speech Wang Dazhong, president of Tsinghua University, reiterated Tsinghua's motto of "Self-discipline and Social Commitment." Before seating himself beside the rostrum to listen with the students, Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao welcomed Bush once again in the capacity of a Tsinghua alumnus. Then, President Bush began to exercise his mission to expound American opinions in plain and clear English.

By giving a lecture at Tsinghua, Bush expected to have a dialogue with China's "future or potential leaders" to establish the relationship of confidence, commented Professor Li Guangxi, director of the Center for International Communication Studies at Tsinghua University.

Coincidently, four years ago in his speech President Clinton described the students of Peking University as "the leaders of the next generation in China."

Obviously, Tsinghua students were not President Bush's only audience, as Professor Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University pointed out:

"At the press conference, addressing the Chinese government as well as the world, Bush made a statement of his position in terms of the US policies. Nevertheless, his speech at Tsinghua was delivered to the Chinese people. Naturally he would vigorously propagate the American values on this occasion."

However, in the way of expounding American values, Bush was different from both Reagan and Clinton.

At Fudan University, Reagan cited the well-known saying from the Declaration of Independence of the United States: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Clinton also referred to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States many times at Peking University to give weight to his speech on "freedom, democracy and equality."

In Bush's remarks, along with the Statue of Liberty and the separation of powers (the legislative, executive and judicial powers) also mentioned to explain American values were the long-standing Chinese tradition of tolerance and words of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. In this way, apparently Bush intended to give this message: Liberty and democracy are universal values and not "soft commodities" exported by the United States.

Similarly, Bush's appreciation for the "noble traditions of family, scholarship and honor" as well as the "ancient ethic of personal and family responsibility" in China is not irrelevant. His aim was to try to trace an analogy between the Chinese and American traditions. Bush said, just as in China, "American moms and dads love their children and work hard and sacrifice for themAnd many Americans voluntarily devote part of their lives to serving other people." This means, like liberty and democracy, these Chinese noble traditions are universally applicable values as well and have been adopted by the American people.

In his remarks Bush expressed a very high opinion of the tremendous changes and development that have occurred in China. On the afternoon of the same day he gave his lecture at Tsinghua University, President Bush climbed the Great Wall and sighed with wonder at China's amazing changes: "The Great Wall is still the same, but today's China is vastly different from the past."

Bush believes that the reform in China will be continued. Twenty-five years' reform has changed China so much, and the same line will be followed in the future. Bush mentioned the Olympic Games that will be hosted by Beijing in 2008 several times in his speech. In his opinion, China's further reform surely hinges on the next six years to come.

"President Bush's judgment is in line with the actual conditions. Accompanying China's further development, the legal system and democracy will be enhanced and perfected," said Professor Yan Xuetong. "Both Bush's remarks at the press conference and in his Tsinghua speech make it clear that the United States must be prepared to deal with China in the long run, longer than Bush Administration will last."

The Chinese government did not reject the US's request for a live broadcast of Bush's speech. Through interpreters and live broadcast, Bush's lecture in which "no single word is hostile to China, but profound implications are hidden behind" was directly delivered to millions of Chinese viewers. Nonetheless, China's reform and opening-up blazed a trail conforming to reality in China, and the policies have made achievements capturing world attention -- thus offering the Chinese government much ground for self-confidence. We are inclined to listen to and understand American values, but in terms of China's future, we have our own comprehension and distinctive way of development.

Similarly, we saw positive reactions from the US side: Before Bush's visit, the media in America adopted a new matter-of-fact tone in their overall coverage of China, which has been described by Professor Li Xiguang as "decomposing demonizing China." Even the Washington Post reported the Tsinghua students in a friendly way.

As sensible communication instead of unilateral export, Bush's speech at Tsinghua University not only gave him a chance to present himself to China, but also provided the opportunity for the Chinese government and Tsinghua students to reveal themselves to the United States as well as the world.

Unlike students from Peking University who questioned Clinton bluntly four years ago, Tsinghua students displayed their tradition of modesty and plainness when putting questions to President Bush at the auditorium. "To be a little bit more sensible, tolerant and responsible is what we need in terms of improving both ourselves and society," said a Tsinghua student.

"Our students were excellent," said Professor Li Xiguang. "Assuming an attitude that was level, friendly, neither overbearing nor servile, they conversed with President Bush bilingually." By using proficient English to communicate with President Bush directly without an interpreter, the Tsinghua students presented a new image of the contemporary Chinese university students with high abilities, and represented the tremendous devotion to learning a foreign language expressed by the new generation of citizens of China.

Despite Bush's disappointingly evasive statement on the Taiwan issue, the intentions of frank communication, learning from each other, self-respect and self-confidence, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and focusing on the future expressed by both sides through Bush's speech and China's live broadcast are exciting and encouraging.

Consequently, this might be an important historical juncture.

(南方周末 [The South Weekend] by Li Wenkai and Xiao Xinxin, translated by Shao Da for china.org.cn, March 28, 2002)