Neighbourly Diplomacy for Forty Years

Author: Cheng Ruisheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The author has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for nearly 50 years. As a senior Burmese interpreter for the new China, he has served as an interpreter for several generations of great leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Deng Xiaoping, on multiple occasions. He accompanied Premier Zhou Enlai on seven visits to Myanmar and was affectionately referred to by the Premier as "an old friend." In the early 1970s, he participated in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and visited these countries. From 1987 to 1991, during his tenure as Ambassador to Myanmar, he witnessed Myanmar's "August Storm" and worked hard to maintain the traditional friendly relations between China and Myanmar. From 1991 to 1994, as Ambassador to India, he hosted visits by Chinese leaders such as Li Peng, Li Ruihuan, and Wen Jiabao, and accompanied the President of India, R. Venkataraman, and the Prime Minister of India, P. V. Narasimha Rao, on visits to China. He witnessed a new high point in China-India friendly relations and was awarded the "1993 Ambassador Award" by the Indian International Solidarity Fund Organization.