Just ahead of the opening of this year's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, Esala Teleni, Fiji's ambassador to China, hastened up the stairs of the Great Hall of the People to attend the conference's opening ceremony, scheduled for 3:00 PM on March 3.

Richard Allan Nixon, Counselor of the Embassy of Grenada to China [China.org.cn]

It was, however, not the first time for the ambassador to attend the meeting of China's top political advisory body, which is one of the most important annual political sessions in China.

"I attended it last year, and that was really impressive [for] its openness and dialogue," said Mr Teleni. "It gives us, especially, the foreigners, an opportunity to come and listen to the development and progress of China."

Fiji's democratic multi-party political system is very different from the Chinese system. However, according to Mr Teleni, Fiji and China share certain core beliefs.

"There are a lot of differences [in terms of the political systems] between China and my country, he said. "But what is important is to maintain political stability. And I think that is very, very important."

As the clock ticked closer to 3:00 pm, more foreign diplomats began queuing in an area specially reserved for them. Each diplomat took a copy of the speech, which would be delivered by CPPCC chairman Jia Qinglin during the opening ceremony.

Marija Adanja, Slovenia's ambassador to China, revealed that she was attending in order to "follow the development in China in general". She voiced her expectation that the session would include numerous discussions regarding China's further reforms, as well as its efforts in maintaining stability.

Speaking about China's political reform, Mrs. Adanja noted its slow progress, but commented that measures appeared to be on the right track and that she was interested to see how discussions would develop over the coming fortnight.

As a member of the European Union, Slovenia takes a close interest in Sino-EU relations and Mrs. Adanja anticipates closer cooperation in future between Europe and China. "I'm sure they are two important actors on the international stage, China and the European Union," she said." "We'll cooperate even more in the future."

"We have lots of very difficult global issues to solve, including the European Union debt crisis."

Commenting on Chairman Jia's opening address, Richard Allan Nixon, Counsellor at the Embassy of Grenada in Beijing, noted that different countries around the world have different political parties that advise governments. He also stated his view that the CPPCC is especially well suited to China in terms of the country's history, culture and its willingness to undertake further international cooperation and integration. He welcomed the opportunity to get a closer look at China's political process.

"It's good for foreign diplomats like us to understand what's going on, so our policies [can] get involved and take shape," said Mr. Nixon. He also noted that China's diplomatic voice is more assertive than before and "works best on its national interest".

Mr. Nixon also confirmed that Grenada was unconcerned by China's peaceful rise. He said: "We are very proud and have high expectations of China's peaceful rise and its win-win situation for foreign policies."

Commenting on China's political reforms and aims, Mr. Nixon said: "It [reform] will not be based on either Western or Caribbean practices, but on the interests of the Chinese people. China's government is making reforms to reflect the interests of Chinese people. That's very important."

Luis Schmidt Montes, Chile's ambassador to China, noted some differences in this year's government report at the CPPCC. He commented that the speech was more specific and open, attributing this to the country's desire to increase its internal demands amid the global financial crisis.

Mr. Montes also noted that China's increased internal demand would also trigger new opportunities for the rest of the world. As one of Chile's main trading partners, increased market demand in China would result in more Chinese imports of foods and wines from Chile, the ambassador explained.

However, Mr. Montes believes that political reform is essential in order to maintain both market vitality and sustainable economic growth. He said that reform, coupled with the changing mentality resulting from more young Chinese people studying abroad, meant that signs were hopeful. He also noted that China's democracy has a way to go but will, despite its difference from the Western model, benefit from greater openness.

He said: "They need to make a very deep reform in the democracy, in the human behavior and other topics they [are] beginning."

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