The greatest need of the contemporary international system is an agreed concept of order.

Well, the capacity of French intellectuals to understand a Texan way of thinking is finite.

I do not know what will happen in China politically. I do know that it is impossible to maintain the communist system or probably even a strict one-party system when the economy becomes so pluralistic. Now, what form that takes and what institutions will evolve, I do not have a clear view about. I do not think the United States, as a general principle, ought to intervene in this.

I do not criticize people who take a public stand on human rights issues. I express my respect for them. But some people are more influential without a public confrontation.

I've often said that the desire to lecture China on how it should behave in the world is wrong. China was around for thousands of years even before America existed. It could even be that China's growing power will allow itself to be slowed down. But as long as this immense empire doesn't fall apart, it will become an important factor in global politics.

Peace depends ultimately not on political arrangements but on the conscience of mankind.

It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.