Diplomacy Is More Than a Diplomat's Job
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He introduced Tea House to his country 17 years ago. His translation of the
famous Chinese play was his way of bridging two diverse cultures. So it's
natural that as Serbia's ambassador to China, Miomir Udovicki knows the
importance of cultural, educational and economic exchanges between China and
Serbia, for only regular exchanges can take bilateral ties to new heights.
"We consider China a traditional friend and a good and trusted partner. We have
a good understanding of one another's internal developments, and we support the
priorities of the other side," says Udovicki. It's this measure of
understanding that will never make Serbia shift from its adherence to the
one-China policy, he says.
On the economic front, Udovicki says his country wants deeper ties with China.
Trade between the two countries was worth more than US$788 million last year,
according to figures of the Serbian embassy in China.
"To be frank, we have a very large trade deficit with China. But I don't want
to blame the Chinese side for it because China is not only footwear and
clothing. Those are only part of China. China is a leading economic,
technological and financial power in the world."
That's why he wants Serbia to export more goods to China. He also wants to
attract more Chinese investment to his country, through joint ventures perhaps.
At present, only some big Chinese firms such as the CITIC Group, Huawei Group
and Sinochem Corporation have a strong presence in Serbia, sharing their high
technologies with companies in that country. But Udovicki says his country
would love to welcome more Chinese investors in the fields of
telecommunication, electronic equipment and machinery.
Bilateral cultural exchanges have picked up of late, though. In August last
year, coinciding with the visit of State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a Confucius
Institute was set up in Belgrade, complete with a faculty of Philology. It is
the first of its kind in the Balkans and is a supportive institution of
high-quality higher education for Serbs who want to learn Chinese language,
literature and history.
"We started Chinese classes in the early 1970s," says Udovicki, who first came
to China, Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages to be precise, in 1981 to
study Chinese. "Even at that time, I spoke Chinese very well and had already
translated some books."
One of the works he translated was Tea House, a powerful play penned by Lao She
(1899-1966), one of the most renowned contemporary Chinese writers. The drama
is set in a typical, old Beijing teahouse and follows the lives of its owner
and his customers. With 60 characters drawn from all strata of society, it
gives an insight into modern Chinese history, its twists and turns and the
changes that took place over half a century.
The ambassador says his translation of the Tea House became very popular with
his countrymen, especially those keen on knowing more about Chinese history and
culture.
Udovicki loves the idea of Confucius Institutes. "China has a long and great
history. It's important that it promotes its language and culture." He firmly
believes the Confucius Institute in Belgrade will deepen and expand bilateral
cooperation.
He, however, would like to see more people-to-people exchanges because it can
better promote understanding between the two countries. Public figures can
sometimes do a diplomat's job better, he says, citing the example of Bora
Milutinovic. The Serbian was head coach of the Chinese football team between
2000 and 2002. In fact, China is one of the four countries that he led to the
ultimate competition in football.
"Milu (the Chinese nickname of Milutinovic) is almost a legendary figure in
China because he led the Chinese football team to the 2002 World Cup finals.
That was the first time China played in the Cup finals, and he helped the
Chinese become more familiar with Serbia," Udovicki says.
Other Serbs active in China's football circle are Ratomir Dujkovic, manager of
the Olympic team and candidate for the national head coach, and Misha
Kosanovic, another candidate for the head coach's post.
As a senior diplomat, Udovicki also knows how to make himself understood when
it comes to his country's stance on Kosovo, which he says is of "crucial
importance". The Serbian government is trying to resolve the Kosovo issue in a
"realistic and flexible" way. The one important precondition is protecting
Serbia's territorial integrity.
His remarks come just two days ahead of Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic's
visit to China. "We consider this visit very important. This is a continuation
of very good and constant political dialogue."
Two subjects will be high on Jeremic's agenda: promotion of bilateral economic
ties and the Kosovo issue, Udovicki says. "We will present our stance on Kosovo
once again. It means we are very, very much in favor of a flexible solution."
The UN has been running Serbia's southern province of Kosovo since 1999 after
78 days of NATO bombing forced Serbian forces out. Serbia has been saying
repeatedly that Kosovo is an integral part of the country and vowed to keep it
within its border. But Kosovo, where 90 percent of the 2 million population is
ethnic Albanian, wants to break away for good.
"We are offering a high-level of and substantial autonomy to Kosovo," Udovicki
says. "Kosovo will have legislative, judicial and administrative powers. But
what we insist on is that Serbians and non-Albanians in Kosovo should be
protected and that can (only) be achieved through a kind of local autonomy."
He is highly impressed by China's principle of "one country, two systems" in
the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. It's a great success,
and a good example for resolving the Kosovo issue. Hong Kong celebrated 10
years of its reunification with the motherland in July, and that "shows the
solution is workable. Hong Kong is still very prosperous. So is Macao",
Udovicki says.
But Serbia doesn't want to copy China to resolve the Kosovo issue, he insists,
because every problem is unique. "What we want to do is find a specific way to
protect our territorial integrity."
"The international community should understand the Kosovo issue is very
complex, and can only be resolved in a unique way. A resolution imposed
forcibly or a unilateral proclamation of independence can create a big problem
for the region and even the world," says Udovicki.
(China Daily September 11, 2007)
http://www.china.org.cn/english/international/224021.htm
