原文標題：Speech at the Chinese welcoming Banquet

Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Premier. I am a doubly privileged visitor. Not only is this the second time in five years that I have visited china to enjoy your warm and generous hospitality, but I find to my astonishment that I am the first British Prime Minister in office to do so .This does not mean that we have been neglectful of china. Thestream of high-level visitors in both directions testifies to that. Nevertheless, it is an ommission which I am proud to be able to rectify and I hope my presence here tonight is further proof of the importance we in Britain attach to relations with your great country.

It is a long way from Peking to London. The distance has sometimes seemed compounded by historical, philosophical and political gaps im ovr outlooks. It is nevertheless many years since our two worlds first touched.

In 1596 Queen Elizabeth the first wrote the Ming Emperor Wan Li expressing the hope that trade could be developed between Britain and China.

In 1686 Robert Hooke of the Royal Society wrote that "A better knowledge of China's civilization would lay open to us an empire of learning, hitherto fabulously described", Since then generations of my countrymen have been fascinated by china. Soon British scientist, is the home of many important science inventions. Cultural and scientific contact went from strength to strengtu through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the tradition of chinese studisin Britain has continued to the present day.

Our political relations have been more varied. But there were important moments when history brought us together. I recall sun Yat-sen`s very close contacts with Britain, Leading up to the famous to China, a plot shich was foiled with the help of the British Foreign Office. Another more recent example perhaps says something more about the two countise: for some time in 1940 and 1941 Britain and China were the only two nations actively engaaed in the war against fascism. Ten years later we were one of the first West European countries to recognize the Chinese People's Republic.

Today, although our political philosophies are very different, our understanding has grown enormously and in world affairs our interests over wide areas are close.

譯文標題：在中國歡迎宴會上的講話

總理先生，感謝你的友好講話。我為這里方問感到雙倍的榮幸。不僅是因為 這是我五年內第二次訪華， 受到你們熱忱和盛情的款待，而且我驚奇地發現， 我是五年內兩度訪華的第一位在任的英國首相。這并不是說，我們以前不重視中 國。雙方高級代表團川流不息的互訪證明了這一點。然而，這是一個不足，我能 來彌補它，使我感到自豪。我希望，今晚我到這里來可以進一步證明，我們英國 人非常重視和你們偉大國家的關系。

北京和倫敦相距遙遠。我們的歷史、哲學和政治觀點上的差異，有時好像擴 大了這個距離。然而，從我們兩國最初接觸到現在，也已經很久了。

1956年，伊麗莎白一世女王曾寫信給明朝的萬歷皇帝，表示希望能發展貢中 之間的貿易。

1686年，皇家學會的羅伯特胡克寫道："更好地了解中國的文明，將為我們打 開一個知識的王國，對這個王國迄今只有神話般的描述。"此后，世世代代的英 國人都感到中國令人神往。眾所周知，中國是很多重要科學發明的發源地，英國 的科學家很快就成了中國的常客。整個19世紀和20世紀初，文化和科學方面的來 往日益密切，在英國，研究中國的傳統一直延續到今天。

我們的政治關系變化較多，但是，在重要的時刻，歷史卻把我們聯在了一起。 我記得孫中山先生和英國有過密切的聯系，以致當時的中國公使館企圖綁架他并 把他送回中國，可是在英國外交部的幫助下，這個陰謀被粉碎了。另一個較近的 例子，也許更多地反映了我們兩國的情況：在1940年和1941年的一些時間里，英 國和中國是積極進行反法西斯戰爭的僅有的兩個國家。十年之后，我們是最早承 認中華人民共和國的西歐國家之一。

今天，雖然我們的政治哲學很不相同，但是我們相互間的了解有了很大的發 展。在世界事務中，我們在很多方面的利益是相近的。