"Too great changes have taken place in China, I feel excited to see every change of it," Mr. David exclaimed without any reserve to the reporter in a relatively standard tone of Mandarin. Recalling of 1982 when I just came to Beijing I found few flowers and plants along the street and people were dressed in simple clothes of dull colors, and I could find few varieties of vegetable in the market. But now the changes are too great.

At that time Mr. David was in his office as political counselor, then minister counselor and now he's the Australian ambassador to China. "It can be said that I have witnessed the earth-shaking changes and benefits brought to the people by the policy of reform and opening-up," he said, "however, what makes me particularly satisfied is that I have made a lot of friends here in China."

Speaking of his impression on the CPPCC and the NPC, he said, "The two conventions are the two of great importance that must be held every year in China. Many foreigners pay great attention to them. Through the two meetings, we can come to know the work the Chinese government have done in the previous year and many hot issues the common people are concerned for, get to know the NPC system in China, thereby making the foreigners have a bettering understanding of the operation of the Chinese government. He expressed great interest in this matter, and wished the "two meetings" a successful ending.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Australia and China. In dealing with the friendly relationship between the two countries, said David Irvine, it can be traced back to the 1880s. From then on the Chinese began to set feet on the land of Australia. Since then the Chinese descendants have been living there for five or six generations and have contributed a lot to the earlier exploration and development of Australia. On entering into the 20th century and especially since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1972 the relations of the two countries have made great headway in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, agriculture, tourism and culture and education, etc. Now, we see every year more than 100,000 Chinese visit to Australia and vice versa, 250,000 Australians come to tour in China. The interactive visits and exchanges have greatly increased the mutual understanding of the peoples between the two countries, thereby laying a solid foundation for the good cooperation between the two countries.

In his sincere congratulations to China's entry into the WTO, Mr. David Irvine said, I believe that China's entry into the WTO will be a great spur to the trade development between the two countries and it would mean a bigger cooperation in a wider area. Should China haven't entered the WTO, it would likewise mean many great opportunities brought by China to the development of the global economy, he said, so long as China's economy can keep on its development at such a pace. However, the joining of the WTO would do China good in a long-term point of view.

When he was talking he was very much expressive, in which he stressed himself with many gestures. When he was speaking of the Chinese living and studying in Australia, he told the reporter that the Chinese descendants come to some 300,000 - 400,000 in Australia and the Chinese students there come to a number of 20,000 - 30,000 with the number still on the increase. As a country of immigrants, the Chinese descendants have made a great contribution to the social development in Australia and have become an important component part in the Australian society. At present, there are excellent Chinese who are working in all walks of life there. In the political field, you'll see the Chinese elite at the leading posts, said David. There have been some Chinese take up the posts of mayors in the capital cities of the two states: one being John So, mayor of Melbourne, capital city of Victoria State and Alfred Huang, mayor of Adelaide, capital city of the South Australia. David Irvine who's also the offspring of immigrants himself expressed his sincere admiration at the great contribution made by the Chinese descendants in Australia.

Along with the increasing number of the Chinese students studying in Australia, expressed David Irvine, they are playing the role of a bridge for the link-up and exchange between the two counties. And the Australian Government has so far made no alteration as to its policy about the Chinese students studying in Australia. Meanwhile he hopes that the Chinese students will return after the completion of their studies there and serve China with what they've learned in Australia, thereby making contributions to the modernization cause and economic development in China.

( March 15, 2002)