I am deeply impressed by President Xi’s positive image

How do you view China’s role in today’s world? Do you believe that some of China’s experiences or practices could be used to solve pressing global problems? If so, what are they? What are the challenges China faces, and how do you feel the country can go

Ante Simonic, 68, former Croatian ambassador to China and honorary professor at the College of Sport Science at Beijing Sport University

China is changing the world by changing itself. It’s so big and so powerful that if China has a fever, the whole world starts coughing. China influences the entire world, and its impact on the world is unbelievable. Particularly as the world now is becoming a small village. If China faces challenges, it influences the whole world.

On an internal level, China has such good leadership — that is very well known. You have such good management and great ability to solve problems.

From my point of view, China is working on projects that include

“CHINA IS THE MOST INTERESTING PLACE IN THE WORLD, BUT MANY PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT.”

asking what to do in two years, five years. China is doing this perfectly, no matter whether we’re talking about changing agriculture or improving life in villages, the differences between the city and countryside, between east and west, south and north. What is your impression of General Secretary Xi Jinping?

I had the privilege of meeting President Xi (also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee) a couple of times when he was vice-president. Xi impresses me deeply.

I remember one of the meetings occurred during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

The meeting was successful. I am deeply impressed by Xi’s positive image.

I see one problem mainly from the perspective of an outsider — which is to convince people overseas that China holds great opportunities for them. People don’t understand China.

When I became ambassador (of Croatia), some friends asked me, “Why you are going to China?” I was in a position to choose to go. I was a former deputy prime minister. I was the only deputy prime minister to enter diplomacy, which was unusual. China is the most interesting place in the world, but many people do not understand that.

No matter which Western country we are talking about, the regular people in the street are completely occupied by (their own) priorities rather than what the world should look like in the future.

They don’t think about the benefits to humankind or that China is bringing a new quality — the abilities of the Chinese people — to the world. That offers a new opportunity for the world. This is the challenge, because a lot of people talk about the Western tradition, not the Eastern one.

When people do not understand something, they say, “This is not important, or this is dangerous”. China is another thing altogether. Using the same elements, you draw different conclusions than people in the West do. Aristotle’s logic does not work here. You have another way of thinking, of drawing conclusions. As far as I can see, it’s very effective.

When I was a kid, my mother told me that if I ever went to China there were two things I should never do: Never talk about numbers, and never play table tennis against Chinese people!

When I came to China as ambassador, I thought the country was so great that I could write a book about it after two months. After two years, I didn’t think I could write a single page. After five years, when I was near the end of my time as ambassador, I felt unable to write even one sentence because things were so complicated.

For me, the most important thing is a certain quality — the character of the Chinese people — and trying to understand that quality.