INTERVIEW Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner with Chen Luyu of Phoenix TV

I have been looking for a video of this for days, but at least we have the transcript. I will add the video should it become available.

Interview With Chen Luyu of Phoenix TV

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner

Beijing, China

May 23, 2010

---

For immediate release and posting:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release: May 24, 2010

INTERVIEW

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
with Chen Luyu of Phoenix TV

May 23, 2010
JW Marriott
Beijing, China

QUESTION: So, tell me. How do you feel before the strategic and economic dialogue starts tomorrow? How do you feel right now?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I feel very good. We have worked hard with our Chinese counterparts in the government over the last year and some months, ever since the Obama Administration started. And both Tim and I are committed to trying to create conditions for the positive and cooperative and comprehensive relationship that we both have pledged to pursue. And I think we recognize that it takes a lot of hard work. But we have seen some very important areas of cooperation. We know we will not agree on everything. But we think the fact that we are constantly consulting and openly discussing a lot of these issues is a very, very good development.

QUESTION: And you, Secretary, how do you feel right now?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I agree. I think our relationship is very strong, and we are here to make it stronger. And I think we have had a remarkably successful first year, trying to build a strong relationship, and lots to show for it already.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: And our hosts are -- have been remarkably gracious with us. And we look forward to these two days of candid, open talks about things that are important to both countries.

You know, we each have core interests important to us, but we share a lot of common interests. And our job is to strengthen those areas of common interest.

QUESTION: I'm sure there are quite a few goals that you want to achieve during this round of dialogue. In the order of importance, what is the most important thing, the goal that you want to achieve, in your perspective, point of view?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think it's what Tim said. We want to take what is a positive relationship and make it more so. It's strong, but it can be stronger. And there are many specific issues that we will be discussing. In fact, we have the largest delegation of American Government officials I think ever to come to a meeting anywhere in the world, over 200.

So, it's not just the issues that are in the headlines that are important, like North Korea or Iran, the economy, you know, those -- your viewers, everyone knows we want to be talking about. But we will also be talking about more cooperation in health care, and in education, and looking for ways to have more people-to-people connections. Because, as important as the government-to-government work is that we both are doing, creating a strong foundation where the American and Chinese people get to know each other better, find ways to cooperate, we think that is the platform for the future.

QUESTION: Okay. And you, what is your number one goal that you really want to achieve?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I think the most important thing on the economic side is to make sure we're working together to strengthen this global recovery. That's what is going to be most important to the citizens of both our countries. We want to work together to make sure we're expanding opportunities in our economic relationship, and working closely to make sure that the world economy is growing together.

But I think what the Secretary of State said is very important. You know, she spent a few days in Shanghai on the way here. I am meeting with a bunch of Chinese chief executives of major Chinese companies on Tuesday. I'm going to go to the Party School, spend Friday afternoon at a high school in Beijing, because, you know, it's important for us to make sure we hear from a broad section of the Chinese people, and to make sure that we have -- we give a range of Chinese people the chance to hear from us about what's important to the United States.

SECRETARY CLINTON: And that's why we appreciate this opportunity so much, because we could go on a regular news program, and that would be important. But we know that you have such a broad audience of people who are curious about the world, they are interested in the subjects that you cover on your show, and we were delighted to have this invitation.

QUESTION: Thank you. Our show is watched by around 65 million people, most of whom are Chinese, or people who speak Chinese every day, around the world.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's very impressive.

QUESTION: So when we knew that we were going to have you both on my show, we were very excited. And then we were thinking, “Okay, what do they have in common,” okay? So we have prepared some photographs from the past, which I think will probably bring back some very good memories.

Okay, that was in Washington, D.C.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That was the opening of -

SECRETARY GEITHNER: First meeting.

SECRETARY CLINTON: First meeting of the strategic and economic dialogue. I think that might have been -- President Obama was addressing the Chinese and American officials.

QUESTION: What were you talking about?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think I was complimenting him on his hair.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: He always looks so good, you know? It's maddening. It takes me so much longer, and it doesn't even look as good.

QUESTION: Yes. Actually, a lot of American people tell me that they think you are one of the best looking guys in the Administration. Do you agree?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: That can't be true. Can't be true.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I have it on very good authority that that's true.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.) Oh, oh, good old days. That must be in the 1980s.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I was a student in China.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: For two summers in 1981 and 1982. And I think that was when I was a student -

QUESTION: Was that on the trip to (inaudible), right?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: That's probably there, but I was a student at Beda, and I guess I went to -

QUESTION: Do you remember the tee shirt you were wearing?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I do remember the tee shirt, I do.

SECRETARY CLINTON: What's that tee shirt say?

QUESTION: (Speaks in Chinese.)

SECRETARY GEITHNER: It's a resort --

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: -- on the ocean where, at least it used to be, the senior leadership used to go in the summer together.

QUESTION: You look pretty much like you are right now, you know, you haven't changed that much.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I'm much older.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I feel so much older.

QUESTION: China was so, so different at that time.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Oh, it's amazing.

QUESTION: There were so few foreigners.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Amazing.

QUESTION: So, everywhere you went, people stared at you a lot?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Yes, we used to have crowds of people follow us. It wasn't just that we were American, Western, it's because we were all students of Chinese. So it was a great -- it was a wonderful experience for us.

QUESTION: Wow. Did you have a Chinese name at that time?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I did have a Chinese name at the time.

QUESTION: What's your Chinese name?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: My Chinese name is (speaks Chinese).

QUESTION: (Speaks Chinese.) Ah, it's a good name.

SECRETARY CLINTON: You know, yesterday, at the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, we have about 200 young American students, like Tim was in that picture all those years ago, whose Mandarin is quite good, I'm told. I have no way of judging, but many people told me that. And they meet all of the Chinese visitors, and they talk with them. And the Chinese visitors are so excited to see young Americans.

And of course we have such a diverse group. You know, we have, you know, Hispanic Americans and Chinese Americans and African Americans, and everyone who is -- speaking to their Chinese guests. And it's really exciting, still, to see that interchange go on.

QUESTION: Exactly, exactly. And, oh -

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, my gosh. That is a really, really old picture.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: That is an excellent picture.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's an old picture.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Looks really good. Look at his figure.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: I have no idea who that is.

SECRETARY CLINTON: You know, we were both in -- we were teaching law school. You know, I had met my husband when we were both students at Yale Law School. And then he went home to teach at the University of Arkansas Law School, and I later accepted a job there, too.

And every Sunday in the spring, summer, and the fall, we would play volleyball with a bunch of the faculty and the students. I have no idea who took that picture. It showed up years and years later. But that's one of our Sunday volleyball games in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

QUESTION: Looks so nice. You know, at that time, if anyone told you that some day in the future you would become Secretary of State of the United States, and you would become Treasury Secretary, would you believe that at that time?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Oh, absolutely about Secretary Clinton. Certainly likely at that time.

SECRETARY CLINTON: No, you know, partly because -- I mean, you look at that picture. I mean, would I ever have gotten confirmed if I'd shown up for my confirmation -

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: But, you know, I never thought about things like that. I'm just so fortunate that I have had this opportunity to, you know, serve my country and work with, you know, great colleagues like Tim at a time of such importance in the world. There are so many critical issues that we have to work together on.

And, you know, a little bit like being on a team, where you have to all come together and try to achieve the goal. But now it has to be a global team. The United States can do a lot on its own. China is doing so much, you know, in the Chinese rise in success. But so many of the problems that we face, you can't deal with them alone. You have to have partnerships. And that is what we are working on.

QUESTION: Yes. At that time did you know what you wanted for your life?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I was -- you know, I was a lawyer and a law professor, and having fun playing volleyball on Sunday. I didn't really know what the future would hold. I always believed that my husband would have a political career, although -- I can't remember the exact year, but that year probably is after he lost his first political race. And you know, he just -- he loved politics, and he loved people, so I knew that he would always be involved.

And that -- and I loved public service and working on behalf of, you know, children and women, and that's something that I still believe in, to this day.

QUESTION: How about you? Did you know what you wanted for life?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: No, but I -- you know, I grew up mostly outside the United States. Even before I came to China I spent a lot of time outside the United States. And I got to see the United States through the eyes of the world, the huge impact America could have on the world, often for good, sometimes for not so good. And I decided, because of that experience, that I wanted to work for my country, and have a chance to shape what we did around the world.

So, I don't think I knew, when I was in China then, that I would ultimately work at the Treasury, work in finance. But I knew that I wanted to work for my country.

QUESTION: Eight weeks in Beijing?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Eight weeks twice. Actually, maybe it was a little longer. Maybe 10 weeks twice.

QUESTION: Wow. Oh, I love those. I love those.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, that's when we were in law school together. And you can see we were children of our times.

QUESTION: Wow, look at the hair and the beard.

SECRETARY CLINTON: He looked like a Viking. That was my first impression when I saw my husband. And then, of course, I had very long hair and what we called aviator glasses.

QUESTION: Oh, yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: And that's the day we were married, which seems like a very short time ago.

QUESTION: Yes. But hair looks very different.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, you know, me and hair. I mean, it's always something that is the easiest thing to change. Everything else is too hard, but hair you can change. You can cut it, you can grow it, you can -- in that case, I had -- that's kind of an old permanent, because you can tell I had very straight hair. But I decided I would see what it was like being curly. And that didn't last too long.

QUESTION: How do you feel right now -- before you became Treasury Secretary you rarely had to appear in the public eye. So you were able to protect your personal lives. But now you have this high-profile job. You have to appear in the public eye. Has it been really hard for you or your family?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Yes, but it's part of the job. But as the Secretary of State knows, you know, as well as anybody in life, it's hard on families to be in the public eye all the time. You lose a lot of privacy. But it's unavoidable.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: It's just a necessary thing.

SECRETARY CLINTON: In our system, in our time -- it wasn't like that 30, 40, 50 years ago. There was so much more privacy. But it does seem to be part of the -

QUESTION: Part of the job.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Part of the job now. And in some ways, I kind of regret it, because I think that people in the public eye, at least in our country, they're constantly expected to have an answer right away. And a lot of the problems that both Tim and I deal with, you know, you can't give some snap answer. You have to be thoughtful. You have to consult. You have to ask experts. You have to, you know, really mull things over. And, you know, there is just this expectation that things move so quickly, so you must have an answer today about something that happened this morning.

And it is hard on families, because, all too often, they too are part of the broad coverage that is given. But as Tim said just a few minutes ago, if you decide you want to serve your country -- and I think we both feel that that's a great privilege -- you do it under the circumstances that are required. And today there is just more openness and more expectation.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: And if you're doing this at a time of crisis and challenge, then it's enormously important for people to see you and listen to you explain what the challenges are and how we sort through them. It's a very important thing to do.

So, I think that it may have been possible in a different era to not be in the public eye all the time. I think now it's very important to do it, very important to do it.

QUESTION: It must be very hard to deal with all those criticisms and bashing. You know, people right now, they are very frustrated. They are angry.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Yes.

QUESTION: So how do you deal with all those things?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Again, I think it's a necessary part of the job. You know, when you're -- like the President, like the Secretary -- if you're making decisions in a time of crisis where there are no simple choices, and people are uncertain, everything you do is going to be a source of controversy. And it's the price of acting.

You know, you can make a choice in a crisis. You can sit there and decide to be cautious, take no risks, don't act because you're scared of the politics. The President, to his credit, made a different choice. He decided he would come in -- you know, we were facing the worst economic crisis in generations in the United States. He decided to come in and move very quickly, very forcefully to fix what was broken in our country. And even though it was going to be politically difficult in the short term to do that, and that is a great political strength of his, and a necessary thing to do in a crisis.

And I think it's why your country made these choices, too. And it's why both our economies now look so strong, in a relative sense, because you have people willing to come in and do hard things early at significant political cost.

QUESTION: But still, we are human beings. Human beings are not perfect. You know, we have tempers. But you always look so composed in public. How do you do that?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I have had a lot of practice. So it goes back many, many years, when my husband first got into politics. And I, I think, very naively thought, well, you know, he will go off in the morning and do politics, and I will go off and do law.

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: You know, practice law and represent clients and teach, and all the rest.

And so, when it became clear that that was just not the way these situations worked if you had somebody in your family in public life, I just learned to take criticism seriously but not personally. I mean if someone is criticizing you, and you think they are criticizing you on a legitimate ground, not for partisan advantage or ideological, you know, differences or commercial potential, whatever the source of it is, if you think that, well, maybe there is something you can learn from that, then you can think about it and say, “Well, you know, that person may have a point.”

I mean, I read a lot of the criticism from people who I think are both intelligent and well-meaning, even if I don't agree with them, even if they come from a different political starting point. But I disregard -- if I look at somebody's name in a column in the newspaper and I know exactly what they're going to say because they say it all the time, I don't learn anything from that. So there is no way to take it seriously.

And then you try not to take it personally, because so often in these public situations in today's world in our country, it's not about you. It's about the position you're advocating, it's about the President you're working for, it's about the policies that you're fighting for. And so you can't take it personally.

But it's a hard lesson to learn the first time you come up against that kind of onslaught of negativity and criticism. But eventually you try to sort it out to get to some sense of equilibrium.

QUESTION: But still you will feel hurt.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Not any more. No, not at all. I mean, you just can't afford -- that is -- that takes time and energy, and you really can't afford that.

QUESTION: I can't imagine that.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, but partly because I have been at very high levels in the American Government for nearly 20 years. So my skin is pretty thick. But also because I have learned that the jobs that Secretary Geithner and I do are so critical that you don't have time to say, “Oh, dear me. How sad I feel because somebody has said something mean.” You have to get up every day and you have to deal with these very difficult challenges. And there is something happening 24 hours. And you just don't -- you just can't indulge in having your feelings hurt, particularly when it has very little to do with the difficulties of the decisions you have to make.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I think if you -- at least I find that as long as you're focused on trying to figure out what is the right thing to do, what is the best choice among difficult bad choices, that's the necessary thing. That's the most important thing that matters.

Because you have to understand that almost nothing you do will meet with universal acclaim. There will be people who will disagree, like their idea better, and of course, we get this great privilege, we get advice from everybody. We get advice from people from all walks of life who have got a good idea, and they like their solution better.

And again, I think the only way to handle this is just to make sure you focus every day on trying to figure out what is the best thing we can do to fix this problem and to advance this cause.

QUESTION: I read from Vogue the other day that you lost your temper once when a TV crew went to film your house, your children were in the house, they were terrified, and you were really angry. Do you remember that?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I do remember that. I try to be protective of my children.

QUESTION: I know.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: And their privacy. But you know, again, these are things that are unavoidable.

QUESTION: I cannot imagine how you look like when you are angry. You know, you always look so composed.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I have my moments.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: I can't imagine that.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: The best thing with anger is just to use it strategically.

QUESTION: Oh, it looks very intense.

SECRETARY CLINTON: There were a lot of intense moments like that in the past year.

QUESTION: Yes, yes. Yes, yes. How do you raise a child in the public eye, especially in the White House? How did you do that?

SECRETARY CLINTON: It just requires an enormous amount of time and attention. And it's particularly important when you're in the public eye. And, in our case, living in the White House -- and, before that, in the Arkansas Governor's Mansion -- where it's not your own home, and you have almost a huge extended family of people who are working there, that you just have to really provide the circumstances where your child can have as normal an existence as possible.

And I talked to Mrs. Obama about that, who is doing a wonderful job with her daughters. You know, it's like things, like you just -- you have to make sure that they are still doing what we call chores, that they don't just expect to have everybody, all the adults who work there, take care of them, that they have to do their own picking up after themselves, and you know, simple things that instill good habits in your children.

And make sure that they don't ever feel entitled because there are always people who are trying to make them feel that they are special because the -- I guess -- the benefit that the person gets is like, “Oh, I know Tim Geithner's children,” or Hillary Clinton's daughter or the Obama girls, and you have to keep their feet on the ground.

And then you also have to make sure that they remain in touch with how hard life is for many people. You know, we have many people in our country who lost their jobs, or who have serious health problems, or who are, you know, poor and don't have the kind of life we are trying to give to everyone. And you want your children to realize that, even though, for this moment in time, they have this extraordinary experience because their mother or their father is involved in public service, that they have to be thankful for that.

QUESTION: Are you a strict mother?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I was. She is an adult now, so -

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: I was. I thought it was important. But it was also the way I was raised. I think it's really important to help your children get that internal compass, you know, know what's right from wrong, develop discipline, organization, so that they don't have a dream but don't know how to pursue it, but they understand how important their education is, they take their work seriously, they show respect to their elders, you know, the kind of universal values that I think make for good child-rearing.

QUESTION: Are you a nagging mother?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, my daughter would say I was, yes.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think most mothers can't help themselves.

QUESTION: Yes, I know.

SECRETARY CLINTON: At least that's been my observation. My daughter taught me a lesson, though, when she was about four years old, and I saw her going outside without a sweater on. And I said, “Chelsea, put on a sweater, it's cold outside.” And she looked at me and goes, “I'm not cold. If you're cold, you should put on a sweater.” So you try to guide your daughter or your son, and then eventually they -- if they are independent-minded, they begin to understand how to make their own way in the world.

QUESTION: Yes. And how about you? Would you send your children to study abroad?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Oh, absolutely. I have a daughter who is 18 or 19 -- 18 going on 19, and a son who is 16, and my daughter studied in other countries. My son is going to Africa this summer. It's the most important gift you can give your child, I think.

QUESTION: Do you get to see your family often?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I do.

QUESTION: Really?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I mean, I travel a lot and work a lot. I don't travel nearly as much as the Secretary of State does. She's got the hardest job on the planet. But I see them as much as I can. My daughter is in college, though, so I don't see her that often.

QUESTION: And how about you? Do you get to see your family enough?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, maybe not enough, but -- I work in Washington, but I still live in New York. And so, whenever I can, I try to get home to New York. And then my husband and I like to do just ordinary, normal things, go out to dinner with friends, go to movies, go for long walks. And my daughter lives in New York City, so I get to see her more than if she lived somewhere else, which I like a lot. And my mother, who is 90 -- going to be 91 in June -- lives with us in Washington. So I am thankful that I have my mother.

And so, it works out. It's not enough time, but I am fortunate to have the time I do enjoy.

QUESTION: You really go to movies together?

SECRETARY CLINTON: We do.

QUESTION: Really?

SECRETARY CLINTON: We do, indeed. Yes.

QUESTION: What movies do you like most?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we have an ongoing negotiation, because my husband prefers the action movies.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: There's a surprise.

SECRETARY CLINTON: The more violence, the better. And I think it's kind of a male thing.

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Where -- just take me to a movie, let me sit there and watch people shoot each other, and I don't find that relaxing at all. So I prefer the comedies, the romances, those kinds of movies. So we take turns. And when I go to one of his movies, I shut my eyes a lot, and listen to the music and the soundtrack. And when he goes to one of my movies, he falls asleep a lot. So it works out pretty well for us.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: He must be very proud of you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, thank you. Well, I am very proud of him, and we have been very fortunate that we have had these extraordinary opportunities in our country.

QUESTION: Do you go to movies? I don't think so.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I do, I do. My wife won't go see (inaudible) and I don't attempt to force her to do it. But we do not as much as we would like.

QUESTION: Well, and speaking of your husband, how is he now?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, thank you for asking. He is very good. He has had a couple of bouts, including open heart surgery nearly six years ago, and then he had to have an artery that was not working well reopened. So he has taken really good care of himself in these years. His doctors are very pleased by -- he has changed his diet, and he walks a lot.

But it has inspired him to work on the eating habits of American children. Because he is like so many people our age. We grew up with all of the hamburgers and the french fries and -- it's what we ate. And it is a real problem when you get older. And, in fact, in my dinner in Shanghai I was talking to some of the high-level Chinese officials who were there, and they were telling me that the fastest growing health problem in China is what's coming from changed diets. People are now eating this kind of food, you know, the fast food -

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: -- and now you are beginning to see problems like heart disease or diabetes. So this is a wake-up call for the whole world. And we have to do more to get people to focus on good eating and healthy foods and organic, and all the kinds of things that are better for you.

QUESTION: Exactly. (Inaudible) supermarket -

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Because the First Lady is also leading a national campaign against childhood obesity.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's right.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Promoting childhood nutrition. And the Treasury Department runs a tax program to try to encourage supermarkets, places they call food deserts in urban America, where -- some neighborhoods in America haven't had supermarkets for decades.

QUESTION: That's what I'm saying. You were just doing your job, because I don't believe you ever did any shopping.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: It is true. I rarely do shop.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: But it's very important, what Mrs. Obama is doing. And she -

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: -- is setting a great example with exercise, as well as good food,
so -

QUESTION: Yes, and she looks fantastic.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Doesn't she look absolutely wonderful?

QUESTION: Oh, yes, yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: And I was at the State dinner the other night for -

SECRETARY GEITHNER: She (inaudible) --

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, she looked fabulous, didn't she? And she is living -- she is modeling a healthy lifestyle, and also with her daughters.

QUESTION: And she has very good taste, in terms of clothes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think so, too.

QUESTION: Very good clothes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, there is the cabinet.

QUESTION: Oh, yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's (inaudible) with the President and the Vice President in what's called the East Room. And then, over the shoulder, see Tim? And then you go up.

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's George Washington, our first President.

QUESTION: Oh, yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's a very famous painting, because it has been in the White House from the very beginning of the White House. And in our War of 1812, when the British, who we were fighting at the time, burned down the White House, the First Lady, a woman named Dolly Madison, rescued that portrait. So it has hung in the White House ever since.

QUESTION: Wow.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: And I think we have almost half the cabinet here in Beijing.

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Not quite half, but almost half that group.

QUESTION: Oh, a dress code?

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Always coordinated. I'm kidding.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That's very funny.

QUESTION: What do you miss most about living at the White House?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, I don't really miss living at the White House, because I had eight years living there, which I am very honored to have had. But, for example, what we are doing there is planting a tree in honor of people who died in a terrorist bombing in our own country, in Oklahoma City. And it's such a heavy weight of responsibility. I miss the people who work there, they are wonderful people. And I love going to events now at the White House. But that time is over.

QUESTION: The tree must be very tall by now.

SECRETARY CLINTON: It's healthy.

QUESTION: Okay, okay.

MODERATOR: I'm sorry, they have to go.

QUESTION: We have something special for you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, thank you, thank you. This has gone by so fast.

QUESTION: I know.

SECRETARY CLINTON: It's just like a conversation among friends.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Excellent pictures.

QUESTION: Have you sold your house?

SECRETARY GEITHNER: I rented it.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Renting was good.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Renting is good.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: It's a nice house, we like it.

QUESTION: (Speaks Chinese.) The god of wealth.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: I love that.

QUESTION: See, originally a Chinese folk hero with a resonant spirit, he was later (inaudible) as the god of wealth by his admirers. Those who place their trust in him will never be harmed.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: That is very generous of you, and very gracious.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That is great.

QUESTION: And see what we have for you?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, let me see.

QUESTION: This is (speaks Chinese). Well, actually, it's you.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: See, (speaks Chinese) is the most renowned Secretary of State in Asian Chinese history.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, thank you.

QUESTION: Who brought peace and prosperity to his country. (Speaks Chinese) is an everlasting symbol of wisdom, charisma, and -

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, I will have to work hard to live up to that. That's a big burden. These are great. Oh, my goodness, well, I will certainly treasure that.

SECRETARY GEITHNER: Thank you so much.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to talk to you.

# # #