On 24 February members of the Diplomat Training Class from Oxford University, headed by Ambassador Alan Hun, former British High Commissioner to Singapore, went to the Chinese Embassy to have discussion with members of the Political Section of the Chinese Embassy.

Young diplomats from 13 countries including Turkey, Ghana, Malawi, Jamaica, ROK, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan listened to introduction on China's foreign policy, its role in the financial crisis, China's human rights and the question of Tibet.

Vahd MULACHELA from Indonesia and Arshad PATHAN from Pakistan made key-note speeches on China's relations with ASEAN and Pakistan.

There was friendly and lively discussions on China's status and responsibility in the world. Ambassador Hunt said that the discussion itself fully showed China's awareness that the world was undergoing huge changes and was working hard to find solution. It showed China's willingness to shoulder more international responsibility. But it was also clearly aware of its domestic challenges and was trying to seek balance between greater international responsibility and its own development. Hami AKSOY from Turkey thought that China was already a super power. The western countries were most concerned with whether China's rise was a result of soft power or force. The role that China played in the world depended to a large extent on how it was viewed by others. As a result, China needed to follow the foreign policy of peace while the western countries needed to treat China's rise with reason. Both sides need to work hard.

The Embassy staff also answered questions from representatives of Thailand and Ghana on China's climate change policy, foreign reserve, and its policy towards Africa.