I now have the very pleasant task of welcoming you to this Conference on China’s Economic Transformation. When Steven Cheung wrote in 1982 his pamphlet for the Institute of Economic Affairs in London on the question “Will China go capitalist?” a question thathe answered in the affirmative, I was one of the few people who agreed with him. But I thought in terms of 100 or 200 years, not 25or 30 years. What happened in China was a complete surprise to me,its scale, its character and speed –– which means that I did not understand what was going on. I therefore determined to hold an conference that would uncover the facts about this extraordinary series of events. We sought out those best able to inform us,academics, businessmen, government officials, about the facts about what happened. I think we succeeded. We have a series of fine papers that greatly enlighten us about what has happened in the years since 1978. As we intent to publish an edited version of these papers (and of the discussions) in a book, they will inform a much wider audience. Of course, although we will learn a great deal about what happened, it is not to be expected, although some things will be made clear, that there will be complete agreement in the views expressed –– nor is it desirable that there should be. A subject in which everyone says the same thing is a dead subject and one which will not progress. Competition in the market for ideas is as valuable as in the market for goods. The truth is found as are sult of the clash of ideas. And it will be so at this conference.
Our first paper by Steven Cheung will be delivered by him on DVD .It is long (about 2 hours) and I decided to divide it into two parts, each about an hour in length with an interval with refreshments in between. Unfortunately, one of our important discussants, Professor Mundell, will not be able to attend on the first day but will give his views on Tuesday morning. I should explain here that while I speak as though I organized this conference, in fact all I did was to have the idea that such a conference would be a good thing. The actual organization of the conference was carried out by Ning Wang, assisted more recently by Lennon Choy and Marjorie Holme. I have been largely a spectator and admirer of their work. I should also say that, approaching 98 years of age later this year, I get extremely tired and almost certainly will not be able to attend all the sessions. But those who present papers at sessions I do not attend should realize that my absence is in no sense of judgment on the worth of their papers.
I now turn to Steven Cheung’s talk. I came to know Steven when he came to Chicago from UCLA in 1967 on a fellowship and was later in 1968 appointed an assistant professor.I don’t remember how we met. But when we did, we formed an immediate bond and we had the most enjoyable and productive talks together. Unfortunately for Chicago, he decided to leave Chicago and go to the University of Washington where he had as colleagues Douglass North and Yoram Barzel. However, our relationship did not end and Steve wrote a series of splendid articles published in the Journal of Law and Economics of which I was editor. Then, in 1981, Steve received an offer from the University of Hong Kong. I urged him to accept. I thought it would be a fine place to observe what was happening in China. Just how valuable it would be I did not then realize. But you will learn from his talk what he has gained from his close observation of events in China over the years. I won’t hold up this really important talk any longer. So here we have Steven Cheung speaking on China’s Economic Transformation.
（2008年7月18日下午4时40分 于芝加哥大学商学院Gleacher会议中心）
我不知道我该说些什么。
这次会议很显然是一个巨大的成功。1978年以后在中国发生的情况，使我感到很惊奇，惊奇是因为我不明白。所以，我就想要开这么个会议，让那些亲身参与中国改革活动的人，包括企业家、政府官员和学者们，给我们作个介绍。
我对中国的未来，一直是坚信不疑的。年轻时，我看了马可波罗的书，非常惊奇，但后来有很长一段时间落后了。我一直感到，中国有巨大的潜能。从1978年以后，我认为它一直在朝着实现这个潜能的方向发展。1978年以后，中国已经取得了巨大的成功。
但是，人类往往会犯错误。我1910年出生，当时，工业革命已经成功，社会机制也比较完善。但在我4岁时，一战爆发，那是一场愚蠢的战争。后来，共产主义国家也诞生了……
那么，看看现在的状况，看来一切发展得还不错。我为张五常的书写序言，其中写到，“中国的奋斗，就是世界的奋斗”（按：原话是“The struggle for China is the struggle for the world”，当时会场同声翻译的是“中国的挣扎，也是世界的挣扎”）。你们什么时候真正实现这个奋斗的目标，我是看不到了。但这次会议有助于这个目标的实现[1]。
我祝愿你们100年以后能够成功！
我即将长眠——如果你们能取得成功，我会感到很幸福！
祝福你们！感谢你们！
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[1] 参加这次研讨会的朱锡庆教授会后谈到，如果科斯能来中国，哪怕只是亲自看一眼他关爱了一辈子的这个国家，中国即使给予他最高规格的礼遇，也不过回报了老人这份痴情的万分之一而已。
