And today, as America struggles to renew the moral fabric of our communities and our country, we can also see that they were right to cling so fiercely to the values of family unity, mutual support, and hard work. So I came home from China with an even deeper pride in my family and in the country of my ancestors. China has given this country and the world so many gifts. The fireworks we use to celebrate the fourth of July - also invented in China. The art and culture of the American west coast - profoundly shaped by China as well as Japan and all the other nationalities of Asia and the Pacific.
Open markets lead to open minds.
And although there's no doubt that China's progress on human rights is uneven and imperfect, the genie is out of the bottle. Faxes, cell phones, television and all the other communications technologies have made it impossible for China ever to turn back. Economic change, communications technology, and a national ambition to be a major partner in world affairs have turned China in a new direction. And the West ought to be focusing on how we can help nurture the changes that will benefit all those children who live in the thousands of villages like Jilong. The Chinese people, who have given so much to the world, have surely earned a place in the sun in the coming century.