Global Celebrity Tan Shibo (Thirteen)

Luo Gaoshou, former Russian Federation ambassador to China, an expert on China.

Long term commitment to the friendly development of Sino Russian relations is known as "an old friend of the Chinese people".

He graduated from Burapha University in 1954 and was a plator in the Chinese State Council.

Since 1958, he has served as a plator and counsellor at the Soviet embassy in China.

In 1986, he served as head of the Sino Soviet negotiation group.

In 1992 -2005, he served as ambassador of Russian Federation to China.

In 2005, he returned to serve as a member of the house of Lords of the Russian Federation Committee.

Participated in the drafting of the Sino Russian Treaty of good neighborly friendship and cooperation.

The Chinese government granted him the "Sino Soviet friendship Medal".

In 2010, Shanghai World Expo will be held in Shanghai, China. I am very grateful to Chinese friends for inviting me to send my best wishes to this grand event.

As a veteran foreigner who has witnessed the development of China for a long time, I am sincerely delighted and eagerly anticipate the opening of this World Expo.

I have an indissoluble bond with China since I was young. I have lived and worked in this country for nearly 30 years.

My life and my diplomatic career of over 40 years have been inextricably linked to this great country.

In the long and complex diplomatic history of Russia China (Soviet Union), I witnessed the whole process of the two countries' relationship from honeymoon to ice age, and finally towards normalization and establishment of strategic cooperative partnership.

When I was working in the embassy, I saw great changes in China, especially in the past 30 years of reform and opening up.

Reform has enhanced China's national strength and changed people's lives. The most obvious progress is the improvement of the speed of economic development.

China is the first country in the great power to develop its economy.

World Expo, which is to be held in Shanghai, is one of the greatest achievements of China's economic development. Congratulations.

World Expo is a civilized event all over the world, and also a long-awaited cultural event between Russia and China. It will make the world better understand China and promote exchanges between Russia and China.

Our family has a deep connection with China. My father, Lao Luo Gao, took part in the northern expedition in China in early years, and plated to Mr. Borodin, general advisor of Mr. Sun Zhongshan.

His father was devoted to Chinese culture and was a genuine "China hand". He was the first Russian to completely plate the water margin and journey to the West.

In my infancy, I was taken to the Consulate General of the Soviet Union in Xinjiang by my mother and spent my childhood in China.

Since I graduated from University, I have come to China many times before my graduation as a former Soviet expert and vice minister of foreign affairs of the former Soviet Union. I have plated many Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.

Premier Zhou Enlai personally signed me the "Sino Soviet friendship Medal", which, to me, is a high honor as a diplomat.

In 1992, I was appointed by the former Russian President Yeltsin as the first ambassador to China in Russian Federation for 14 years. When I left office, my friends all over China.

Besides, the four generations of our family are connected with China.

My sister is a Chinese researcher from the Russian Far East Institute. Sun Tzu has studied in China, and now my daughter is also working in Beijing.

I was very sad when my 14 year ambassador to China left office. After that, I still kept thinking about China, and I was very concerned about the news from China every day.

I once said: as long as time permits, I will try to feel the changes in China, fully feel his deep and great, China is a country that needs to be understood in a lifetime.

Now I still think so.

For Shanghai, I have always had a special feeling.

In February 1989, I accompanied my foreign minister Shevardnadze to Beijing for preparatory work for the then president Gorbachev's visit to China, but Mr. Deng Xiaoping was not in Beijing, and the foreign ministry said he was in Shanghai.

We went to Shanghai and met Mr. Deng Xiaoping.

Deng Xiaoping shook hands with Shevardnadze's foreign minister, shook hands with me, and said to me, "I remember you, you plated to me in 50s."

This historic interview is unforgettable for me.

In May 1989, President Gorbachev successfully visited China and wrote a chapter on the normalization of relations between the two countries. I have witnessed an important moment in the history of Russia and China.

I often visit China just like "going home".

In the last 4 and a half years, I went to China 24 times, and I will return to Shanghai every year.

Over the past 30 years, China has been carrying out reforms step by step. Shanghai is the fastest growing city. With the deepening of reform, this eclectic city has maintained economic development, social stability and cultural prosperity, and has also ensured the continuous improvement of people's living standards.

For the theme of "Better City, better life" in World Expo this year, the development of Shanghai is an excellent interpretation.

In 2010, World Expo was the first time in the developing world to host this spectacular event. This is not a simple achievement. World Expo, held in Shanghai, China in 2010, embodies the strength of this rapidly developing modern city.

Russia attaches great importance to World Expo's participation in the exhibition. The Russian pavilion takes the theme of "new Russia: cities and people" as the theme, focusing on the Russian vision of modern cities and the inseparable ties between Russia and China. Shanghai World Expo will provide the Chinese people with a more detailed understanding of Russia's opportunities and will help Russia better understand China's excellent neighbor.

This is a comforting progress.

I believe that with the approaching and successful holding of World Expo, Shanghai, the mutual understanding between the two peoples will go deeper.

I sincerely wish World Expo 2010 Shanghai a complete success and wish the people of Russia and China to be friends for generations.