On the afternoon of February 24, 2003, President Jiang Zemin met with visiting US Secretary of State Powell at the Great Hall of the People.

Jiang said since his last meeting with US President George W. Bush at Crawford in the United States last year, bilateral ties in various fields have made new progress and the two countries have identified more common interests and wider areas of cooperation. He said that over the last decade Sino-US ties have maintained development while undergoing ups and downs, for which the following pieces of experiences are of great importance. Firstly, the two sides should treat their relations within the general international situation and from a long-term strategic perspective. Secondly, the two sides should continuously increase mutual understanding and develop mutual trust. Thirdly, both countries should acknowledge and respect differences and seek and expand common interests. Fourthly, the three joint communiqués between China and the US should be abided by and the Taiwan question should be appropriately handled. Jiang concluded that only by doing so can the Sino-US relations overcome all difficulties and move forward.

Powell conveyed President Bush's greetings to Jiang. He highly praised the current momentum in US-China relations. He said great changes have taken place in the international situation, and the two countries have jointly overcome the difficulties that once hampered bilateral relations, broadening the scope of US-China cooperation. He said the United States wishes to further expand cooperative ties with China. On the Taiwan issue, Powell said the United States understands China's stance and would stick to the One China policy.

The two sides also exchanged opinions on the Iraq issue and the nuclear issue in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Finally, Jiang asked Powell to convey his greetings to President Bush.