Our Knowledge about China Entirely Updated"──Sidelights on the China Trip by the Delegation of Trade

At the invitation of the Chinese Association for International Understand-ing (CAFIU), Mr. Gloss Wilhelm , Vice-president of the Austria's Trade Union of Civil Servants (ATUCS), headed a delegation of trade unionists from the Austria-China Friendship Association (ACFA) for a visit to China in late June this year. As a CAFIU staff member, I had the honor to accompany the Austrian friends on their tour of Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Qufu. My experience with them was pleasant. The members of the delegation were all leading officials of various departments of ATUCS. Most of them were in China for the first time. Short as the trip was, they were impressed by changes and develop-ment in China. In Xi'an, they could not tear themselves away from the time-honored cultural heritage. In Beijing, they marveled at the integration of the ancient and modern civilization. In Qufu, they were enchanted by the extensive and pro-found philosophy of Confucianism. What impressed them most was the Oriental Pearl-the city of Shanghai, where they saw the emerging airport in Pudong, the row upon row of skyscrapers, the dynamic economic development zones and the strong flavor of metropolitan life. They were so impressed that they commented: "Shanghai has directly leaped into the information society without experiencing certain stages of development." Wherever he went, Mr. Herwig Frad, the delegation's "concurrent photographer" kept taking pictures with his favorite Nikon camera. He said: " I'll try to take as many pictures of what I see here as possible so that when I'm back home I'll be able to tell my colleagues about the dramatic changes in China. And that will also help me preserve my memories of the pleasant experience. The Austrian friends told me that when they were in their own country they had closely followed development in China, especially the country's domestic political environment. Although they had heard about China's social and economic progress before they traveled to China, what they saw firsthand in the country exceeded their imagination. Mr. Gloss Wilhelm, head of the delegation, commented that China today is not only charming for its long-standing history and splendid culture, but also impressive to the rest of the world for its rapid economic growth and dramatic improvement in its comprehensive national strength. On their trip, members of the delegation also took note of the gap between the eastern and western parts of the country as well as the disparities between big cities and small ones. They thought that such imbalance in develop-ment would be inevitable in the transition from a planned economy to a market one. They also expressed the belief that the Chinese Government's strategy of develop-ing western China would surely elevate development in that part of the country to a new height.In addition, many members of the delegation indicated that they used to have misunderstanding about China due to the impact of negative media coverage. The brief visit of just a few days, however, has entirely updated their knowledge of the country. What they found most striking was that China has not only achieved economic success that has attracted worldwide attention, but also has made remarkable progress in advancing political democracy. The Chinese people today can speak out their minds and are free to choose from different religious beliefs. They believed that the key factors for China's achievements in recent years and continued development in the years to come were the stable domestic political environment, which was essential to the smooth implementation of various policies and measures for development. For many years, the Chinese Association for International Understand-ing and the Austria-China Friendship Association have done a lot of productive work for people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Time and again, members of the delegation indicated throughout the trip that such contacts would lead to a better understanding