在美丽的厦门大学，来自美国的潘维廉教授备受学生们喜爱，大家都亲切地叫他“老潘”。1988年，老潘一家来到厦门学习中文。

来中国之前，在洛杉矶中国城的一家书店，老潘从一本叫作《中国建设》（1990年更名为《今日中国》）的杂志上，了解到很多有关中国的信息。第一次来到厦门，老潘就喜欢上了中国，随后他应聘到厦门大学，做起了外籍教员。

▲ 1988年，老潘一家在厦门的第一辆车。

希望了解一个真实的中国，老潘决定用自己的方式行走中国。

2019年，老潘再次驱车行走中国，他要亲眼看看这25年里，中国大地发生了哪些变化。

▲ 旅途中的老潘与中国西部的村民。

在老潘看来，不仅中国的经济在发展，中国的环境保护也取得了长足的进步。

谈及中国的发展和变化，老潘说，我们这一代人已经开始从中国的发展变化中受益。

2019年2月，老潘的新书《我不见外——老潘的中国来信》出版后，他把书寄给了中国国家主席习近平，很快就收到了习主席的回信。

在厦门生活的30多年里，老潘说自己从未“见外”，持有中国绿卡的他，已经成为了一个地道的中国人。

When my family came to Xiamen for the first time in 1988, I quickly fell in love with China and became a foreign teacher at Xiamen University. At that time, the living conditions were harsh. Every day, the running water was out once or more, power outages were frequent, and transportation wasn't convenient. But even though the situation was not very good for us, the people were so warm, friendly, and hospitable.

Before coming to China, I discovered China Reconstructs, the magazine whose name later changed to China Today in 1990, at a bookstore in Los Angeles’ China Town. Through the magazine I learned a lot about China. In order to get acquainted with the real China, I decided to travel around China in my own way. So in 1994, I drove with my wife and sons all around China. We drove up the coast to Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Qingdao, over to Beijing, down to Xi'an, across to Qinghai and Tibet, and back to Xiamen through Yunnan and South China, so pretty much most of the country. It took us three months and we traveled 40,000 kilometers in total.

Teaching to Fish

I drove around China to see if reforms truly benefited all parts of the country. To my surprise, China had already begun building new roads, schools, and medical centers even in remote villages.

From a humanitarian standpoint, it was impressive, but as a business professor, I wondered how the government would ever recoup such massive investments in remote, sparsely populated areas. I finally realized that China’s leadership had a very farsighted perspective on poverty alleviation. The ancients said, “Give a hungry person a fish and they eat one day; teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime.” Simply doling money to such a large population would not address the root of poverty, and might make it even worse if people became dependent upon aid. Improved infrastructure and living conditions, however, gave people hope of lifting themselves out of poverty.

China’s great changes over three decades have given me great faith in China’s leadership. In 1994, for example, it took me three months to drive 40,000 kilometers, but today China has the world’s most extensive highway system and high-speed train network. Three decades ago, power and water were out weekly, sometimes daily, even in coastal cities like Xiamen. Today, farmers in remote mountain villages laughed when I asked if they ever had power outages. In 1991, I spent US $450 and waited three years to get a home telephone. Today, even farmers in remote Tibetan and Inner Mongolian villages have cell phones and access to the Internet, and they buy and sell goods online. The changes are nothing short of miraculous.

But even with China’s track record, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vow to eradicate poverty by 2020 was so surprising that in 2019 I decided to drive around China again to see just how much progress had been made over the past 25 years. Although everyone knows China’s miraculous economic statistics, I wanted to put real faces to the numbers -- to interview people in every corner of the country to see if their lives had changed. What I discovered astonished not only me but the Chinese who made the trip with me.

I planned to drive around China alone but leaders of Xiamen University’s School of Management (SMXMU) were concerned about my safety and health and provided a car and driver.  “You’re not 38 this time, you’re 63!” they reminded me. We ended up with several cars and a dozen people, including SMXMU leaders, Teacher Jie, Doctor Liu, student assistants, New Channel’s Miss Wang, whom CEO Hu Min provided to help with interviews, and a Fujian Television video production crew. Our team also included Zhu Qingfu, an award-winning Fujian photographer, and the tunnel expert CEO Lin Zhengjia, both of whom I interviewed when I discovered they are the kinds of people who have made China’s success possible. But as I quickly learned, China has exceptional people in every corner of the country.

Every member of our team was astonished at the sheer scope of changes in every province and county. From the boat people of Fu’an, whom President Xi helped to get homes on land, to herders in Inner Mongolia, farmers in Ningxia and Gansu, and villagers in remote Tibet, Yunnan and Guangxi, lives had changed because of concrete and consistent plans implemented by local leaders who took their task of fulfilling the “China Dream” seriously. But eradicating poverty is easier said than done, especially when one must juggle economic, cultural, and environment issues.

In Inner Mongolia, for example, the government struggles to improve local people’s lives while letting them retain traditional practices, yet over-grazing by sheep has led to desertification. Both the government and people have proven to be creative. One mother I interviewed cut back on her livestock’s grazing but earned enough from selling traditional Inner Mongolian snacks that she could send her daughter to Xiamen University!

Greening While Growing

In addition to making economic achievements, China has also made great progress in environmental protection.

I was especially impressed that China has become greener even as it had grown. In 1994, rural China seemed to have only one color: mud. By day two my white van was mud colored; by day three, I too was dusty and the color of mud. But today, every province has modern highways with gleaming bridges and endless tunnels cutting across valleys and mountains that in 1994 were barren but today are green and fertile. In Inner Mongolia, we looked in vain for the sand dunes that had trapped my van in 1994. Today, that area is covered in grass and trees.

Every city I went to was so clean, and the countryside too. Districts and cities like Nanjing, Qingdao, Beijing’s Dongcheng District, Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Shanghai ‘s Songjiang District, which I had helped to win the international livable city competition, had not only modernized, but at the same time they had made the environment even better. But today, China not only has garden cities but also garden countrysides.

In a Ningxia village that in 1994 was extremely impoverished, concrete roads lead to the doorsteps of farmers’ new brick homes, which have reliable electricity, water, and internet. I interviewed a local leader who had grown up in a traditional mud home that had collapsed in a heavy rain and almost crushed him. He was delighted by the government’s campaign to help all villagers in China build safer homes. He visited an elderly lady whose home had been rebuilt to ask if she needed further help. “I have a new home,” she replied. “That’s enough!”

China’s Secret

My 20,000-kilometer trip in 2019 showed me that China is indeed on track to eradicate poverty -- but what is China’s secret to achieving a dream that has eluded all other nations?

In 1731, English politician Eustace Budgell said that China was famous for great inventions but it most excelled, above all nations, in “the art of government.” History shows that China has survived the ages because it has always had farsighted leadership, but that’s only one part of China’s secret. Great leaders also need capable followers. There’s little point in teaching how to fish if the pupil can’t or won’t fish. As one farmer told me, “The government understands our needs and has good policies, but good policies can’t help if we don’t do our own part!” 

After dozens of interviews around China, I’m convinced that China is great because it has both farsighted top-down leadership and bottom-up innovation by the people. For example, Mr. Lin Zhengjia, the Pingtan boy who had no shoes until he was a teen and studied martial arts to give himself self-confidence, worked as a fisherman, and as a common laborer he saw ways to improve tunnel construction, pulled together a team, and is today a billionaire and global leader in tunneling. He participated in building China’s first undersea tunnel, and the world’s highest tunnel in Tibet. And though he has often told me he is uncultured because he studied only four years, he is a philanthropist, providing education to disadvantaged youth in many provinces.

New China also owes its success to people like the teacher from Northeast China who for over 30 years has taught in remote Gansu, and gives much of her small salary to needy students, many of whom have gone on to college and helped to build their country. And I was moved by the story of XMU’s first Tibetan alumni, Yeshe Tenzin, who has studied in Beijing, Singapore, and the U.S. but turned down many opportunities abroad, determined to return to his homeland to teach at Tibet University. I was also very moved by the story of Hu Min, CEO of New Channel International Education Group -- a teacher who in 14 years has opened over 300 schools in over 40 cities, with over 100,000 students each year.

Hu Min’s personal motto is, “I will persist until I succeed,” but this must be China’s motto as well. There is no other explanation for why China is the only ancient great nation that has not only survived but thrives to this day.

In 1919, exactly a century ago, a western missionary, Mary Gamewell, wrote in her book New Life Currents in China, “China is not like ancient Egypt, whose greatness has departed though she still lives on. China is a vital force whose largest possibilities of development lie before and not behind her. A new fresh life is beginning to course through the nation’s veins....”

Today, China’s possibilities are greater than ever, and her success at eradicating poverty offers the hope of a fresh new life, not only for Chinese but for other peoples. All people, after all, are dreamers -- dreaming of a better, safer world for our descendants.

老范的家乡在比利时弗拉芒地区。1980年他第一次来到中国。

那时他从未想过自己能在中国待40年。但一年过去又是一年，他渐渐成了“中国通”，被周围的朋友打上了“中国先生”的标记。老范在2008年北京奥运会的筹办工作中做出了卓越的贡献，几年后，他获得了中国绿卡。

6年前，老范在北京建立了“中国通”俱乐部。这里是外国友人交流感情、分享在中国生活经历的平台。老范也从中收获了友谊和人脉。

“中国通”的老友们是中国发展和变化的见证者。老范认为，中国最近40年经历的非凡变化，是世界上独一无二的。没有一个国家能在这么短的时间内从根本上发生这么大的改变。

老范说：“尤其是基础设施建设。中国建造的公路、高铁，以及其他基建，令人印象深刻。中国不再是那个生产‘T恤’的制造型国家，而是创造‘5G’和‘电动车’的创新型国家。”

老范认为，中国的改变不仅仅发生在北京、上海等大城市。他乐于去一些小地方，看很多外国人接触不到的一面。他说：“我以为甘肃、四川、重庆这些地方应该很穷，但实际上完全不是我想象的那样，这些地方都很现代化。”

My name is Gilbert Van Kerckhove. It's a complicated name for our Chinese friends, so I'm normally called Lao Fan. I am Belgian from the Flemish region.

I came to China a very long time ago, I was in China for the first time in 1980. I was recruited by a Belgian company, called the Ateliers de Construction Électrique de Charleroi, in simple ACEC. They had obtained a very important contract with China for the construction of a power plant in Henan province, the city of Pingdingshan. It was the power plant called Yaomeng.

I never made the plan that I would stay 40 years in China. A year has been added, another year has been added. Eventually, even if I wanted to leave China, everyone told me: No, Mr. Kerckhove, you are the China specialist, we don't want to use you in another country. So it was a little bit marked here, "Mr. China". The Olympic past, because of that, I was decorated by everyone. Then I received the green card.

"Old China Hands" club started in a very funny way. One day I thought to myself: there is no one in China who does that, why don't I start? So I had the idea of assembling foreigners, otherwise the term does not apply to "Old China Hands". And this is for foreigners who are living in China since 10 years at least, because we want people to feel comfortable with each other.

People assist each other, and chat with each other. And very often people meet again. "We met 30 years ago, and now we're here. “ It's quite funny. I love doing that.

The payment I get is the friendship and camaraderie we built in that group. You have probably seen a lot of changes in China in the past almost 40 years. So, the changes I have seen in China in these 40 years, is quite incredible, I think it is also unique in the world. No other countries in the world has experienced such a radical transformation in such a short period of time.

It's a radical change, we're discovering another China. This is particularly true of infrastructure investments, which are extremely important. When you look at all the highways, high-speed railways, and others that have been built in China, it's impressive. China is no longer the country of T-shirts, today, China is 5G and electric cars is something else.

The change we see in China is not only visible in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, etc. I am very happy that I have had the opportunity to visit regions other than the big cities. It's very exciting, because you find a China that foreigners don't know about. We think that these regions like Gansu, Sichuan, Chongqing are poor. So, when you get there, you don't get there at all. It's extremely modern.

他叫老罗（巴勃罗•罗维塔），来自乌拉圭。他的父亲曾两次受邀访问中国，他从小就在父亲的书房里读到很多有关中国的书。长大后，他来到中国，并在中国度过了几十年。他说，最宝贵的回忆是在清华读大学的五年，教材是中文的，考试也用中文，是他“最中国”的岁月。老罗说，他与中国的缘分贯穿他的整个人生，从未间断过。如今，他们家与中国的故事由他的下一代开始续写，他希望与中国的这种情谊可以一代又一代地传下去。

与中国的缘分贯穿我整个人生。我出生在1958年，1962年父亲开始在乌拉圭和南美发行销售中国出版物。从小我就在父亲的书房里看到了许多来自中国的图书。

▲老罗和他的朋友岑楚兰夫妇。

父亲在1966和1967年两次受邀到中国。1975年，我17岁，随家人来到中国。与中国的联系从未断过。

最宝贵的回忆是我在清华大学的岁月，我在那里待了五年，从某种意义上可以说是我“最中国”的岁月。教材是中文的，考试也用中文。我们有支球队，每天下午都踢球对我来说，那段时光是我在中国最开心的岁月。

对我来说，中国70年的变化我切身经历了44年。与我在中国生活时相比， 人民生活水平在各方面都显著提高了。

我生活的那个年代，如果有一辆自行车、一块腕表、一台缝纫机、一个收音机。当时称之为“四大件”，那就是很富足了。

▲老罗的父母1986年与中国同事的合影。

这样的改变不胜枚举，但如果用一句话来概括（中国经济发展、人民生活极大改善）这个现象的话，那就是实施对外改革开放政策带来的成果 。

我儿子从很小的时候, 到他五岁，都住在中国。我的侄女去年12月来过中国，她出生在中国。我很希望我们家与中国的这种特殊关系可以一代一代地传下去。

My personal relationship with China is practically a lifelong link. I was born in 1958, back then, as a child, I used to go to my father's bookstore, when I was growing up, and I was already entertaining myself by reading Chinese children's stories, such as The Old Man Who Moved the Mountain or Pilgrimage to the West.

And in 1975, when I was 17, I came with my family to China and there begins my direct relationship with China. And from 1977 until now I still have a Chinese relationship, and all my professional life has been related to China.

The best memory I have of my years in China were my years at Tsinghua University. I was there for five years，and I can say that those were for my “most Chinese years”, if I’m allowed to say it like that. The books were in Chinese, the exams were in Chinese, we played football all afternoon, we had a football team, and those were the happiest years I spent in China

For me the change is the most important part of these 70 years of which I have a direct relationship of 44 years, but in these 44 years the most relevant thing for me has been the change in people's lives in all aspects. Transportation is getting better in any city, Metro transportation is getting better, and bus transport is getting better, more and more people do tourism within China, the change, the improvement of people's lives in all aspects especially compared to the years in which I was here.

The richest person in China in those years had a bicycle, a wrist watch, a sewing machine and a radio, those were the four most luxurious things a citizen of this country could have. But the most important thing without any doubt is the improvement in all conditions.

I could talk about this for a long time, I am no economist, and I am not a politics expert either。But in the end I think that if we had to sum all this up in one word. It is a consequence of the policy of reforms and openness abroad, if we had to summarize it.

Well my son was here from a very young age, until he was five years old he lived in China, then when he was 18 or 19 he made a trip to China, my niece was in December last year in China, she was born in China. I think she is the only Uruguayan with an identity card that says “place of birth: China” And now she is studying Chinese. So I think, and I wish that this special relationship with China would continue to be passed on from generation to generation.

我叫罗纳德·莫劳，来自比利时。我来中国已经31年了，因为一次偶然的机会我需要在中国待几个月，然后我就遇到了身边这位可爱女士。

我父亲是（比利时）很有名的糕点师，这也是我选择成为一名厨师的原因。妻子帮我（在北京）物色了这个小餐厅，安排大小事务。我很幸运能遇到我妻子，愿意跟我一起生活，最开始她本不想结婚，所以我花了很大力气追求她。

一般咱们说“女主内，男主外”，我们家餐厅是我主外，他主内，他在厨房里做东西，我在外面（招待客人）。他是很敬业的。我觉得那种敬业精神让这个男人很有味。男人事业成功是因为他的职业他自豪。我觉得嫁给这样的老公，我自豪。

中国人常说，一个成功的男人背后，总有一个默默支持他的女人。如果没有我身边这位聪慧过人的中国女士，我根本不可能成功。

现在 20年过去了，我们餐馆的菜单始终没有变化。我们把精力放在保证质量上，我们用最好的肉，最好的蔬菜。婚姻也需要同样的智慧。我们非常相爱，相处和谐。

随着中国人生活水平的提高，中国客人的数量渐渐超过了欧洲客人。以前来的外国客人居多，90%是外国人，10%是亚洲人。现在基本上90%是中国人，10%是外国人。中国人开始对不同国家的美食感兴趣，也愿意带着家人来体验美食。

中国的变化很大。当人们看到中国高楼林立，车水马龙的时候，都想来北京做生意赚钱。我觉得北京是世界上最安全的几个城市之一。

他这么评价中国，真的我很自豪，是因为我是中国人我自豪，我是北京人我更自豪。

见证中国，祝福中国。

Je m’appelle Rennat Morel. Je suis Belge. En Chine, je commence ma 31e année et je suis arrivé par hasard en Chine pour quelques mois et après j’ai rencontré cette gentille dame.

My name is Rennat Morel, and I am Belgian. I have lived in China for 31 years. At first I had only planned on staying a couple of months, but then I met this lovely lady.

Je suis le fils d’un patissier qui était très connu. Donc ?a m’a toujours donné un avantage dans mon métier de cuisinier. Elle m’a trouvé un petit restaurant. C’est ma femme qui vient en renfort et organise les choses pour qu’on reste ici. J’ai beaucoup de chance qu’une femme accepte de vivre avec moi parce que je suis toujours occupé. Voilà, c’est ma femme Suzanne, qui ne voulait pas se marier, donc j’ai fait un très grand effort.

My father is a very famous pastry chef in Belgium which is why I chose to be a cook myself. My wife helped me to find this small restaurant and arranged everything for us to stay in Beijing. I was lucky to meet Suzanne, and then lucky she decided to live with me, even though I am always busy. At first, she didn’t want to get married, but after I made a lot of effort, she changed her mind.

Nous avons coutume de dire « l’homme s’occupe des affaires extérieures, la femme s’occupe des affaires familiales ?, mais dans notre restaurant, mon mari s’occupe des affaires intérieures et c’est moi qui m’occupe des affaires extérieures. Il reste à la cuisine, et moi, je suis à l’extérieur, je m’occupe du restaurant. Mon mari est passionné par son métier. Je trouve que les hommes qui font leur métier avec passion ont beaucoup de charme. Ils incarnent la réussite car ils sont fiers de leur carrière. Moi, je suis fière de mon mari.

People often say, "Women take care of the family, while men deal with the outside world.” But here, my husband is in the kitchen and I am outside, dealing with guests. He is very dedicated. I think dedication to career gives men a lot of charm, and they are also proud of their career, which bring them success. I feel very proud I married my husband.

En Chine, quand un homme a du succès, il y a toujours une femme très forte derrière. Sans une femme qui parle chinois, qui a un cerveau qui fonctionne bien, ce n’est pas possible.

Chinese people often say that behind a successful man, there is always a woman who silently supports him. Without this smart Chinese woman at my side, I wouldn’t have been able to succeed.

Maintenant, 20 ans avec le même menu, ça c’est moi. Mais je fais très attention sur la qualité de la nourriture. On a la meilleure viande, les meilleurs légumes. Et bien c’est l’intelligence, On est très ensemble et l’amour c’est s’entendre ensemble.

Now 20 years have passed, and the menu in our restaurants is still the same. We focus on quality first, using the best meat and the best vegetables. To make a good marriage, effort must be made to pursue quality as well. We love each other and get along well.

Les Chinois ont un niveau de vie plus élevé donc ils remplacent les Euopéens. Avant il y avait plus d’étrangers, à 90 % des étrangers et 10 % des gens d’Asie. Maintenant c’est plutôt 90 % de Chinois et 10 % d’étrangers. Donc ils commencent à vouloir conna?tre toutes les nourritures des différents pays et quand ils reviennent en Chine, ils invitent souent la famille.

donc il peut faire sentir à sa famille, à travers la nourriture, ce qu’est la vie en Europe.

As the living standards of Chinese people have increased, the number of Chinese clients has gradually surpassed that of European clients. In the past, the majority of our guests were foreigners: 90% of the guests came from foreign countries, and 10% of those were Asians. Presently, basically 90% of our guests are Chinese and 10% are foreigners. Chinese people have begun to show interest in cuisines of different countries and bring their families to experience the exotic food.

La Chine a beaucoup changé. Quand tu viens de l’arrière-pays et que tu vois tous les grands bâtiments, toutes les voitures, tout le monde veut donc venir à Pékin. Et après, je pense que Pékin est l’un des villes les plus sûres dans le monde.

China has changed a lot. When people from the countryside see these high-rise buildings and all these cars, they all want to come to Beijing to do business and make money. I think Beijing is one of the safest cities in the world.

Le fait qu’il apprécie la Chine me remplit de fierté parce que je suis chinoise et pékinoise.

Knowing how much he loves China is important to me because I am proud to be Chinese and even more proud to be a Beijinger.

Vivre l’expérience en Chine. Meilleures vœux pour la Chine

Live the Chinese life and my best wishes to China.

北京的街头车水马龙，除了经典的燃油轿车外，各种电动汽车也在街上行驶，来自德国的吕宁也身在其中。中国人的出行方式和交通工具的变化，吕宁成为深度体验者。

与很多北京上班族一样，吕宁每天开着他的小型电动车上下班，路程不远，十分方便。

1995年第一次来中国时，吕宁便喜欢上了北京。他曾经作为一个资深电台编辑，在中国国际广播电台工作相当长时间，如今，他在中央编译局担任语言顾问。他觉得，北京这些年发生了很大的变化，在街景上显现得尤为明显。

吕宁说， 绿色出行方式比如共享单车、电动摩托车、电动汽车，这对于改善北京的空气质量而言功不可没，与上世纪90年代相比，北京在环保方面已经取得了巨大的成就。

在个人生活方面，今年66岁的吕宁也收获了幸福。他与他的夫人玉月梅在北京一起有了一个温馨的家，为此，吕宁卖掉了他在德国的房子。对这个德国人来说，跨文化的爱情是他亲身经历的文化融合。

像大多数的中国人一样，这对中德夫妻也在日常生活中享受着互联网时代的种种便利，而这种便利的实现，只需要一部智能手机和发达的数字化基础设施。即使新鲜的有机蔬菜，吕宁也可以在家门口直接买到。

吕宁为人随和、健谈，不愧是天性开朗的德国莱茵兰人，在他的第二故乡北京，吕宁与当地人打成一片。中国人日常生活的巨大变化和创新的生活方式，在吕宁看来，是中国不断推进改革开放带来的结果。他说，他愿意继续见证中国的未来发展。

The streets of the megacity of Beijing are bustling with activities. Today, not only traditional petrol-engined cars but also electric vehicles of all kinds ply the roads here. In the endless traffic stream you can spot Hartmut Lüning. The 66-year-old German has personally witnessed China‘s changes in traffic that have taken place in the everyday life of the Chinese.

Like many people in the capital, Hartmut Lüning commutes to work by an electric car. For the short distance to the office his agile electric car makes the ride quite convenient.

Even in 1995, when Lüning first came to Beijing the metropolis fascinated him right away. As an experienced radio editor he worked for the German department of China Radio International for a long time. Today, he works as a language consultant for Compilation and Translation Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. For him, the great changes that have taken place in Beijing over the years are particularly visible on the streets.

Green means of transport such as sharing bikes, e-scooters, and electric cars have also helped to further improve the air quality in Beijing, says Lüning. Compared to the 1990s, much has changed in the metropolis in terms of environmental protection, he says.

Personally as well, the 66-year-old German has found happiness in China. Together with his Chinese wife Yu Yuemei, Hartmut Lüning has made himself at home in his Beijing apartment. He has sold his property in Germany. For him, the inter-cultural relationship based on love is an example of  the integration of life.

Like most locals, the Chinese-German couple also enjoys the advantages of the Internet age in everyday life. This is made possible by smartphones and a well-developed digital infrastructure. Even fresh organic vegetables Hartmut Lüning gets right on his doorstep in Beijing.

With his temperament, the cosmopolitan Rhinelander opens doors and hearts in his new adopted hometown Beijing. He wants to continue to accompany China and the Chinese on their path of reform and opening-up. The great changes and innovations in the everyday life of the Chinese as the German knows are the result of the ongoing reform and opening-up process which China has courageously pushed forward in the past decades.

鲁德•基里尔是白俄罗斯驻华大使，在中国先后工作生活了8年时间。1992年读高中到美国交流学习时，他曾寄宿在当地一个华人家庭。

“那是我第一次从一个中国家庭的眼中了解美国社会，这个视角很有意思。”

从2007年至2012年，基里尔出任白俄罗斯驻华大使馆商务参赞，让他有更多时间去认识这个国家。

“中国的公司在全球都有建设项目，中文在世界范围内的影响力在增加。”

暂别中国4年之后，2016年，基里尔以白俄罗斯驻华大使的身份再次回到中国。担任白俄罗斯总统经济顾问以及出任驻华外交官期间，白中两国积极务实的双边合作，让他看到了两国未来合作的广阔前景。

“我很荣幸白俄罗斯参加了两次“一带一路国际合作高峰论坛”，这说明我们是中国政府的老朋友了。”

中国—白俄罗斯巨石工业园是“一带一路”倡议中两国合作的重要成果，如今它已经成为丝绸之路经济带中贯通欧亚的重要枢纽。基里尔说，在中国“一切皆有可能”。

“中国政府代表着中国人民，中国共产党也代表着中国人民，人民的收入增长了，也变得更加幸福，更加多元，更加开放。”

Rudy Kiryl, the Belarus’ Ambassador to China, has been living in China for eight years. It was back in 1992 that he first lived with a Chinese family while studying in an American high school as an exchange student.

That was my first experience to get to know the United States through the eyes of a Chinese family. So that was very interesting.

From 2007 to 2012, Rudy Kiryl became the counsellor of the Belarus embassy in Beijing. During that period he had more time to get acquainted with this country.

We saw a lot of Chinese companies have a lot of projects all over the world. And now the language is increasing its influence all over the world.

After a four-year leave, Rudy Kiryl came back again and was appointed as the Belarus’ ambassador to China in 2016.  Rudy Kiryl, is not only a foreign diplomat in China, but was once the economic adviser of Belarus’ President. Having witnessed the proactive and pragmatic cooperation between the two nations, he believes that there are bright prospects for future collaborations.

But we participated twice. So that proves that we are long-term friends and long-term supporters of Belt & Road and other initiatives that China provides.

The China-Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park, is a landmark project of the Belt & Road Initiative, and has become a vital hub on the Silk Road Economic Belt linking Europe and Asia. According to Rudy Kiryl, “Everything is possible” in China.

We see that China represents its people. Chinese Communist Party represents its people. And the income is growing in China, people became more, you know, happier, richer; and China, more diversified, more open.