In France's diplomatic career

Author: Wu Jianmin, Shi Yanhua / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The authors are a diplomatic couple stationed in France. They recorded their observations and experiences in France from 1998 to 2003 over nearly five years. Their accounts not only covered political insights from their diplomatic work but also included social, cultural, and customs-related content about France. The book is written in accessible language and is accompanied by numerous photographs. Reading it will help readers understand diplomacy and France.
II. A Small Incident of Submitting the Letter of Credence
According to international practice, after a new ambassador arrives, the protocol officer of the host country must visit the new ambassador as soon as possible to arrange the submission of the letter of credence to the head of state of the host country. The letter of credence is the "introduction letter" for the new ambassador upon taking office, signed by the head of state. It is a formal letter from one head of state to another, introducing their envoy. Once the ambassador submits the letter of credence, it signifies that the host country accepts him as the representative of the head of state of the sending country. Therefore, new ambassadors are very eager to submit the letter of credence as soon as possible to begin their activities.
In diplomatic relations, sometimes a small matter can carry political significance. For example, arranging the time for submitting the letter of credence is usually centralized by the protocol department of the foreign ministry based on the schedule of the host country's head of state and the number of new ambassadors. It may be arranged once a month or even every two months. Sometimes, due to cold relations between the two countries, there may even be deliberate delays.
On the day we arrived in Paris, the French Foreign Ministry's protocol officer, Monsieur Grassé, and his wife came to our official residence for a visit. Grassé had a typical Gallic appearance—medium height, with a tall and pointed nose, slim, and seemed very capable (this was later confirmed during our cooperation). His wife, Marie Christiane, was also medium height and slim, with great elegance. Grassé himself was a career diplomat who had served as ambassador in Singapore and was very familiar with Asia and passionate about Eastern culture. His home was filled with Chinese artworks, including two original works by Liu Haisu.
The host of the official residence, Zhou Jianbo, served tea and Chinese snacks like spring rolls. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, both Wu Jianmin and Shi Yanhua introduced themselves and briefly discussed their diplomatic experiences. Grassé said, "Ambassador Wu has served in neighboring countries of France multiple times—Belgium, the Netherlands, Geneva—and we were very envious. Now that you are finally in France, we are very happy. On behalf of President Chirac, Prime Minister Jospin, and Foreign Minister Vedrine, I extend a warm welcome to you."
Wu Jianmin replied, "It is a great honor and a challenging task to be posted to France. I will do my utmost to promote the continuous development of China-France relations." Shi Yanhua, also a career diplomat, had served as ambassador in Luxembourg before coming to France. Grassé clearly had reviewed both of their resumes before the visit. Turning to Shi Yanhua, he asked, "Leaving your post as ambassador to Luxembourg to come to France, do you not feel regret?" Shi replied, "I don’t regret it. On one hand, I remain a diplomat and continue to work at the embassy, pursuing my diplomatic career. On the other hand, I have a great fondness for French culture, and I am very happy to be here. I look forward to learning more about French culture."
The French take great pride in their culture, and they were delighted to hear this. Following protocol, Wu Jianmin handed Grassé a copy of the letter of credence, and Grassé explained the procedure for its submission. Ambassadors may bring two colleagues when submitting the letter of credence, and the working language can be chosen freely. Regarding the timing of the submission, Grassé said he was actively arranging it. According to French protocol, the submission of letters of credence must be centralized once four to five ambassadors have taken office. Currently, only the Chinese and Mongolian ambassadors are waiting, and it cannot be guaranteed whether it will be submitted within the year. However, it will not be too long before the Chinese ambassador is called upon.
According to French protocol, new ambassadors cannot pay visits to high-ranking officials, such as cabinet members, before submitting their letters of credence, unless there are special circumstances that warrant separate consideration. France is not a rigidly formal country when it comes to etiquette, and ambassadors are free to carry out other activities as usual. Later, an official from the French protocol department privately told me that they would arrange for me to submit the letter of credence on October 14 of the following year. I had learned that the French president’s New Year’s reception was scheduled for January 7. This meant I could not attend the reception. I would miss an important opportunity to meet the president directly.
France does not have a deputy foreign minister; the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the second-in-command. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a member of the cabinet and can only be visited after the letter of credence is submitted. Therefore, on December 1, I visited the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Han Jin, to discuss the timing of the letter of credence submission. Han Jin repeated France’s protocol. I pointed out, "If the submission of the letter of credence is delayed until mid-January of next year, I will be unable to attend the president’s New Year’s reception on January 7, and the outside world will make various speculations—we do not want this to happen. However, the Chinese are patient, and I respect the French arrangements. Ma Lei, the French ambassador to China from 1996 to 2001, arrived in Beijing on October 12, 1996, and submitted his letter of credence on November 14. At that time, it was near the end of the year, and President Jiang Zemin was very busy, but France is France—‘La France, c’est la France’—and the Chinese made special arrangements. Waiting for a month for the submission of the letter of credence is understandable, but waiting for two and a half months seems too long."
Han Jin agreed with what I said and said he would make another effort to arrange a special case. However, he still left room for doubt: "But everything depends on the president himself." On December 7, during a meeting with the French president’s foreign affairs advisor, Revet, he took the initiative to say that President Chirac had considered that it would be inappropriate for the Chinese ambassador to miss the reception and had agreed to accept the letter of credence before the end of the year. Two days later, Grassé, the protocol officer, formally wrote to me, notifying me that I should submit the letter of credence to the French president at the élysée Palace at 12:15 PM on January 12.
I was very happy—I had finally convinced the French. P5-7