HE Ambassador Yuan Nansheng Gives Lecture on Diplomacy
2018-07-18

To implement the DSB and HSC leadership’s instruction on continued education and making this institution a place of knowledge acquisition by offering diplomatic knowhow to the employees for broader perspectives, this Department invited Mr. Yuan Nansheng, former Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe and Surinam, to give a lecture on Some Thoughts on My Experiences as a Diplomat in Retrospect, on afternoon, 12 June 2018. Miss Lin Li, Mr. Ren Guanghui and Mr. Liu Qing, HSC deputy general manager, directors of Tayuan and Jianwai DRCs, respectively, took part in the lecture with their teams.

 Mr. Yuan is a veteran diplomat who has worked overseas representing China for 18 years. He looked back on his years as a diplomat and the major events and tests that he’d experienced, regarding turning an unfavorable situation to an advantageous one, declining some dignitary’s request for an untimely visit, covert evacuation of Chinese specialists, air crash aftermath handling and famine relief in the host country, among others. According to him, all the tests brought about fresh experiences and satisfaction for a career diplomat. Under his personal care, the host country was helped with construction of orphanages and the local families of Chinese origin were called upon to adopt HIV positive orphans. To safeguard the interest of the local Chinese population, he worked to make the Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) a statutory holiday in the host country. All the cases revealed the challenges that a diplomat had to face, as the listeners were exceptionally awed by the wisdom and professionalism of the former senior diplomat, as his anecdotes drew rounds after rounds of applauses.

 Basing on his experience and with consideration to the diplomatic situation that China was facing, he shared 5 points with the audience: 1. Be a citizen of a big country with self-confidence, tolerance, faith and ethics with a diplomatic perspective; 2. Bearing the big picture in mind and let the world know more about China, through establishment of the Confucius’ Institution for instance; 3. Be a responsible and brave person with down-to-earth work; 4. Serving China’s diplomatic pursuits with flexibility, intelligence and experience; 5. Be careful with details and face up to difficulties and challenges with pragmatic endeavors. During the following Q and A session, the listeners posed numerous questions about the countries that yet to establish diplomatic ties with China and cultural differences, among others. Mr. Yuan gave insightful but easy to understand answers, in addition to making valuable suggestions about working in the diplomatic service.

 Mr. Yuan’s presentation was received as marvelous and thought provoking, with his very admirable patriotism, loyalty to the motherland, calmness and professionalism. The lecture offered a deeper understanding in the country’s diplomatic pursuit and was motivating enough for us to devote to our daily work with stronger sense of responsibility and eagerness. It is believed, with motivation as such, we will be able to continue elevating quality of service in the DRC brand name building and better serve the diplomatic community in Beijing.