ICC Sent a Letter of Thanks to Former US Ambassador to China James Stapleton Roy

Recently, the International Cooperation Center (ICC) sent a letter of thanks to James Stapleton Roy, former US ambassador to China. Early this month, Ambassador James Stapleton Roy for drove to attend the Seminar on Sino-US Relations and World Pattern (The US called it the UOM China-US Summit) held at the University of Maryland (UOM) in the US. As a supporter of this seminar, ICC expressed great regards to Ambassador James Stapleton Roy for his long-term commitment to promoting the development of Sino-US relations and the exchange and cooperation between the two countries in various fields. ICC pointed out in the letter that Ambassador James Stapleton Roy’s sincere feelings and important contributions to promoting the development of the bilateral relations in more than half of a century will go down in history. Mr. Ambassador used to witness and promote the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries with different national conditions, which still has an important impact on China, the US and the world.

Ambassador James Stapleton Roy is delivering a speech

In the letter, ICC said that as the world today is in an era of major development, transformation and adjustment. With the increasing multipolarization and economic globalization, all countries should adhere to multilateralism and strengthen international cooperation to better deal with global challenges. The history and reality over more than 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US show that sound China-US relations can benefit the people of the two countries and the world, and are conducive to global and regional peace, stability and prosperity. For the stake of the fundamental interests of the people of the two countries and the world, the Chinese government has always viewed and handled China-US relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. The Chinese traditional culture advocates harmony in diversity and stresses taking hold of key links. As Mr. Ambassador has always advocated and stressed, we believe that China and the US should strengthen communication at all levels on strategic issues to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment, and enhance mutual understanding.

James Stapleton Roy (second from left), Henry S Tang, and Wayne Silby

ICC mentioned in the letter that President Xi Jinping ever said during his visit to the US in September 2015: "for good China-US relations, the foundation lies in the people, and hope lies in the youth. I hope the Chinese and American students can join hands to establish better China-US relations in the future.” ICC pointed out that Mr. Ambassador affirmed China's remarkable changes and important achievements in economic development over the years, as well as its increasingly important role in global and regional economic and trade cooperation in his speech made at the UOM China-US Summit. This shows that China and the US have common interests in a wide range of areas, and their common grounds far outweigh their differences. ICC and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of the University of Maryland thank Ambassador James Stapleton Roy for attending this seminar. We wish Mr. Ambassador both health and longevity, and hope he can continue to exert an outstanding influence on enhancing China-US relations.

Born in Nanjing, China, in 1935, James Stapleton Roy is a diplomat of the US and the founding director of the Kissinger Associates of US-China Relations at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. Graduated from the Princeton University in 1956, he served as the deputy director of the US Liaison Office in China in the late 1970s, and used to participate in the negotiation on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US. He served as the US Ambassador to China from 1991 to 1995, and as the Assistant Secretary of State of the US from 1999 to 2000. Ambassador James Stapleton Roy, over 80 years old, still insists on going to the office every day to observe the changes in the US politics and international affairs at the Wilson International Center, one km away from the White House.