這些人和他們的故事既平凡又偉大。平凡是因?yàn)樗麄兣c我們每天在街上看到的人沒什么不同。偉大是因?yàn)樗麄兊墓适潞芎玫卣宫F(xiàn)了兩個(gè)文化迥異的國家間，人民如何能夠找到共同點(diǎn)并相互理解，也因?yàn)樗麄兙褪侵忻纼蓢嗣癫粩喟l(fā)展的交流和友誼的縮影。

　　這些“小人物”的故事讓我們看到為何中美關(guān)系基礎(chǔ)堅(jiān)實(shí)，為何應(yīng)對其未來充滿信心。這并非由于他們有何前無古人之壯舉，而是因?yàn)樗麄內(nèi)諒?fù)一日，在兩國人民間架設(shè)橋梁，為人民交往做出貢獻(xiàn)，從而使中美關(guān)系不斷向前。他們就是中美關(guān)系中“善良的天使”。

These people and their stories are both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because they are no different from people we see on the streets every day. Yet they are extraordinary, because their stories are excellent examples of how people of two countries with very different cultures have been able to find common ground and get to understand each other, and because they epitomize the ever-growing exchanges and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.

From these ordinary men and women, we know why the China-US relationship is firmly grounded, and why we should be confident in its future. It is not because they have accomplished a feat never done before; but because of their work day after day, building bridges between the two peoples and contributing to people-to-people ties, that our relations keep forging ahead. They are the "better angels" for our relations.

　　幾個(gè)月后，我們將迎來中美建交40周年。過去四十年中，雙邊關(guān)系得到長足發(fā)展，碩果累累，卻也曾經(jīng)歷不少曲折。每當(dāng)中美關(guān)系遭遇坎坷，前景受到質(zhì)疑時(shí)，兩國人民都在那里，默默努力，堅(jiān)持不懈，貢獻(xiàn)自己的力量，推動兩國關(guān)系走出困境，繼續(xù)向前。正是因?yàn)樗麄兊牟恍概?，我們才能彌合分歧，?shí)現(xiàn)兩國關(guān)系持續(xù)穩(wěn)定發(fā)展；正是因?yàn)樗麄兊膱?jiān)定信念，我們才能開辟合作共贏的道路，使兩國利益前所未有地緊密相連。

　　但近來，兩國關(guān)系的發(fā)展形勢讓許多人感到不安。過去一年，我們聽到很多消極聲音：貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)的威脅，主張戰(zhàn)略競爭的聲音，在南海的武力炫耀，甚至對中國學(xué)生和學(xué)者的無端指責(zé)。競爭和對抗似乎成為我們未來道路的主流，人們不禁要再次呼吁“善良的天使”。有時(shí)，我們會想，“善良的天使”是否已經(jīng)銷聲匿跡，亦或是否已被人性的陰暗面所掩蓋？

In a couple of months, we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The relationship has come a long way in the past four decades. It has made great strides, while also has had its share of setbacks. But every time it risked being stranded, every time its future was cast into doubt, the people of our two countries would be there, quietly but persistently, doing their part, lifting it out of the quagmire, and moving it forward. And thanks to their unremitting efforts, we have been able to rise above differences and ensure sustained and steady growth of our relations; thanks to their unswerving commitment, we have blazed a trail of win-win cooperation and seen our interests as closely tied as never before.

But these days, what has been going on between our two countries has kept many people on tenterhooks. Over the past year we have heard enough of trade war threats, assertions about strategic rivalry, sabre-rattling in the South China Sea and even unfounded accusations against Chinese students and scholars. It looks as if rivalry and confrontation became the prevailing aspect for our path ahead and people cannot but again call for the touch of "better angels". Sometimes we wonder if they have just vanished or if they are overshadowed by the dark side of human nature?