China's Premier And The American President: Two Leaders, Two Speeches, Two Differing World Visions

Their words came just an hour apart this week - two major speeches by two of the world's most powerful leaders, delivered on opposite sides of the planet. Together, they illustrate the very different approaches the world's 21st-century powers are taking to achieve their respective national ambitions.

For China, it was a call for unity to overcome obstacles through innovation and "opening up" - a time-honored phrase in Chinese politics - to eventually accomplish national rejuvenation. It came from Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing as he delivered an annual work report to the National People's Congress, nearly 3,000 representatives from a nation of 1.4 billion people.

Seven thousand miles away and an hour later, at 9 p.m. in Washington, President Donald Trump addressed both chambers of the U.S. Congress , more than 500 lawmakers representing a nation of 340 million, as he vowed to levy tariffs on imports and defeat inflation to "make America great again" - an equally resonant phrase for many in the United States.

From setting to speaking style, the speeches were an ocean apart. Yet they struck a similar tone - that of a desire for greatness at a moment when the reigning superpower and its biggest challenger are seeing their interests increasingly at odds.

The paths their leaders choose will shape both countries' futures - and the rest of the world's, too.