1998年6月25日-7月3日，克林顿对我国进行正式友好访问。6月25日，克林顿到达中国的第一站是古都西安，并在西安做了简短的演说：
冯市长、程省长、李书记，你们好。
谢谢你们赠予的城市之匙和这个盛大的欢迎仪式。在这座古老的城市，中国今晚显得分外年轻，它天赐般的拥有让人骄傲的历史和美好的未来。西安曾经是世界文化史上极为开放和发达的城市。从这个地方贸易之路延伸到了亚洲，通向了欧洲和非洲。这里汇集了很多伟大的思想家，他们传播哲学以及新思想，这些观念让中国变得强大起来。
我期待着看到兵马俑、古城墙和穆斯林广场。我期盼了解更多关于中国对保存人类知识宝库所做的伟大贡献，从医药和印刷术到数学和天文学——全世界很多进步都是建立在这些发现之上的。另外我还想看一看你们正在进行大规模经济建设的新国家，这些景象是过去的帝王所不能预见的。
曾向世界贡献了印刷术的中国，现在拥有了传真机、计算机和移动电话，并引以为豪。西安是电影制作人的家园，网络开发人员和各路商人云集于此。在这个以书法而闻名的城市，正在抒写中国新的篇章。
我们美国人民钦佩你们伟大的成就、迅速发展的经济、勤劳的工作、巨大的创造力和远见。我们也钦佩你们为消除贫困和饥饿所做出的努力以及为朝鲜和南亚的和平和稳定与我们的合作。中国人民正在迎接崭新的一天。中国的伟大蕴藏于人民。
我们自己的历史也使美国人民确信，任何一个国家的伟大要由她的人民来衡量——由他们享有的对家庭和团体、对工作和知识的尊重，对独创性的思维、信仰和创造力的尊重来决定。
在这个全球信息化的时代，经济的成长和个人机遇都建立在原创性的观念之上，承诺向全人类提供发展潜能的机遇对新中国的力量和成功也是至关重要的。
在我遍访中国之时，我希望尽我所能了解中国人民，了解你们的历史，了解你们对未来的梦想。并且我希望能帮助中国人民更多地理了解美国的历史，了解美国人民从历史中得到的教训和我们对21世纪的梦想。
我相信中美两国人民渴望着同样的事情：供养家庭，教育后代，建造社区，保护地球，塑造未来，并把一个更灿烂的机会留给后代。
在美国国内和这里或许都有这样的人，他们质疑美中之间更紧密的联系和更深厚的友谊是否适宜。显而易见，答案是肯定的。我们有很强的能力来彼此提携，我们可以取长补短，我们能够互相学习许多东西。作为两个伟大的国家，我们对未来有着特殊的使命。我们下周要采取的举措会让我们的人民在将来迈出更大的步伐。
在这个有着非凡历史意义的城市，我们必须时刻记住，我们也是先辈。有一天我们的子孙将问到我们是否已经尽力建设公平的社会和一个更和平的世界。让我们的纪念碑来为他们作出判断，我们的确做到了。让我们所有人求同存异，并肩前进，为我们共同的命运而奋斗。中国称之为《礼记》的古代礼仪书上这样说：“大道之行，天下为公。”，让我们为这句话赋予新的时代意义。谢谢，非常感谢大家。
英文全文：
Mayor Feng,Governor Cheng,Secretary Li,Ni Men Hao.
Thank you for the key to your city and for this magnificent welcome. Here in this ancient capital, China seems very young to me tonight, blessed with both a proud history and the promise of tomorrow. Xi'an was perhaps the most open and culturally advanced city in the entire world. From this place, trade routes extended through Asia to Europe and Africa. And to this place, great thinkers came, spreading philosophy and new ideas that have contributed to the greatness of china.
I look forward to seeing the Terracotta Warriors, the old city walls, the Muslim quarter. I look forward to learning more about China's great contributions to the store of human knowledge from medicine and printing, to mathematics and astronomy. Discoveries on which so much of the whole world progress is based.And I want to see more of the new nation you are building on a scale even the emperors could not have foreseen.
China that gave us printing now boasts fax machines, computers and cell phones. Xi'an is home to film makers, internet explorers and business people of every description. Here in this city, famous for calligraphy, a new chapter in china's story is being written.
We Americans admire your accomplishments, your economy, your hard work, creativity and vision, your efforts against hunger and poverty, your work with us on peace and stability in Korea and South Asia. A new day is dawning for the Chinese people, for China's greatness lies as always with its people.
Our own history has convinced Americans that the greatness of any country is measured in its people, in their shared reverence for family and community, for work and learning, and in their individual thoughts, beliefs, and creativity.
In this global information age where both economic growth and individual opportunity are based on ideas, a commitment to providing all human beings the opportunity to develop their full potential，is vital to the strength and success of the new China as well.
As I travel across China, I hope to learn as much as I can about the Chinese people, your history, and your dreams for the future. And I hope to help the Chinese people understand more of American's history, the lessons the American people have drawn from it, and the dreams we hold for the 21st Century.
I believe both Chinese and Americans aspire to many of the same things: to provide for our families, to teach our children, to build our communities, to protect our earth, to shape our own futures and pass brighter possibilities on to our children.
There may be those here and back in America who wonder whether closer ties and deeper friendship between America and China are good. Clearly the answer is yes. We have a powerful ability to help each other grow. We can learn much from each other. And as two great nations we have a special responsibility to the future of the world. The steps we take over the next week can lead to far greater strides for our people in the years ahead.
Here in this city of your magnificent history we must always remember that we too are ancestors. Someday our children and their children will ask if we did all we could to build just societies and a more peaceful world. Let our monument be their judgment that we did that. Let our progress include all people with all their differences moving toward a common destiny. Let us give new meaning to the words written in the ancient Book of Rights what you call the Liji:" when the great way is followed, all under heaven will be equal." Xie, xie. Thank you very much.
