Neighborhood Diplomacy for Forty Years -- "Diplomats Look at the World" Series

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. He accompanied Premier Zhou Enlai on seven visits to Myanmar and was affectionately called "an old friend" by the Premier. In the early 1970s, he participated in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and visited these countries. During his tenure as Ambassador to Myanmar from 1987 to 1991, 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 Indian President R. Venkataraman and Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao on their 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.