Diplomatic Pouch | Mike Peters

Seven European diplomats visited Yunnan province earlier this month, for a tour hosted by Liu Haixing, director-general of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of European Affairs, and Yang Xian, deputy director of the Poverty-Alleviation Office.

Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen of Denmark and Economic Minister Beate Grzeski of the German embassy joined diplomats from Luxembourg, Belgium, Romania and Switzerland on the trip, which included stops in the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefectures. The delegation visited Huangtupo village, chatted with local people, and attended a class at the Nationalities High School of Malipo county. At a seminar held for the delegation, local officials presented the issues involved in reforming the economic and social situation in some of China's poorest areas.

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Argentine Ambassador Gustavo A. Martino hosted a media reception for Chinese and foreign media representatives in Beijing, to celebrate a year of cooperation with a tasting of fine wines and beef from Argentina.

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It's critical for the United States and China "to figure out how (they) can get along", US Ambassador Gary Locke told a standing-room-only crowd at the Asia Society in New York last week. Predicting "there will be continuity in the US-China relationship," he said the much-talked-about US "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific doesn't mean the US wants to contain China. "The pivot also includes greater engagement with China. President Obama has actually met with President Hu Jintao 12 or 14 times. Secretary of State Clinton has been to China seven times."

Noting that almost 60 percent of the world's GDP is in the Asia-Pacific region, Locke said there is a natural recognition of the importance of the entire region.

Joined on stage by moderator George Stephanopoulos, of ABC News, and the Asia Society's Orville Schell, Locke applauded China's new leader, Xi Jinping, for his casual style, saying that Xi is comfortable in public and at ease with people. "We don't really have a great sense of the policies of Xi Jinping, because China is ruled by a committee of seven," he said. "We really won't know for a while exactly how fast, how far he's going to move, and what areas he'll emphasize."

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As the US consulate in Guangzhou prepares to move into a new compound in Zujiang Xincheng next year, the staff's "green team" is focusing not just on the office relocation but the environmentally friendly elements of the new facility.

Consular officials say in a new blog post, the design has maximized energy efficiency, indoor air quality and water consumption, and supported the local economy through the use of indigenous, sustainably procured materials.

The consulate will use biobasins on the campus to capture and filter rainwater before it enters the local water supply. The new consulate's landscape is designed and planted with native plants that require less irrigation because they are adapted to the region's water, soil and sunlight, playing a significant role in the efficient use of water.

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Pakistani diplomat Danyal Gilani took second prize at a photo contest held in Beijing. Gilani, press and culture attach at the embassy, won second prize after judges reviewed 3,729 photographs submitted for the competition titled Beijing Spirit in the Eyes of Foreign Friends.

Participants included professional photographers, from 63 countries. The Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries organizes the annual contest.

Gilani has won the contest twice. Last year, one of his photographs was awarded third prize.

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michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 12/30/2012 page5)