By Patrick Whitely (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-08 07:38

Mandarin-speaking Australian leader and former Beijing resident Kevin Rudd is about to dazzle the good people of China yet again with his genuine affection for their motherland.

The Australian prime minister's acceptance of Chinese people is reflected in his very own family. Rudd's daughter Jessica married Chinese-born Australian Albert Tse and the young newly weds once lived in the same Brisbane street as Rudd and his wife Therese Rein.

Jessica and Albert's marriage is a symbol of Australia's core value of multi-cultural harmony, the same value China also cherishes.

Unlike any other major world leader, Rudd has no need for Chinese interpreters. When he speaks to China's leaders, his exact words of encouragement will be heard. There will be no paraphrasing and no delays between translations.

There will be "no worries", as Australians like to say.

Like a courteous guest and quite sensibly, Rudd will praise his hosts considering China is Australia's biggest trading partner. He also might slip in a few old Chinese sayings for good measure, thanks to his passion for the language and appreciation of the culture.

Rudd is one of a new generation of world leaders who looked outside their own countries from an early age.

More than 27 years ago, Rudd scored First Class Honors in Asian Studies from the Australian National University in Canberra and became a diplomat.

After serving in Europe he worked at the Australian embassy in Beijing and made many long lasting friendships. On weekends, Rudd probably ate Peking duck in local restaurants, strolled through the hutong, and during spring, walked among the budding blossoms in Summer Palace gardens as many of us Bejing residents are doing now.

These were not official visits with security guards in tow. He was just one of thousands of China expats enjoying the sights and sounds of the capital. He was just an average Aussie expat, just like me, exploring a new city, learning first hand about a new culture and making new friends along the way.

This week's official visit as prime minister is a lot different, and the stakes are bigger. In September last year, PetroChina oil company agreed to buy up to 3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year from an Australian producer for the next 15-20 years. The multi-billion dollar package was Australia's largest ever export deal.

Rudd understands the realities of big business and the unique way of conducting it in China.

Between 1996 and 1998, he worked as senior China consultant for KPMG Australia and helped open up trade and business opportunities for Australian companies in China.

Some Chinese people have seen and heard Rudd on Chinese television. CCTV anchor Rui Chenggang interviewed the Labor leader in the lead-up to last year's election and Rudd spoke Chinese. Once elected, he promised to lift "the Australia-Chinese relationship to a whole new level".

Chinese leaders are no strangers to Rudd. At a state lunch for President Hu Jintao in Australia last year, Rudd warmly welcomed Hu in putonghua and equally wowed the local media.

"When Rudd started fluently addressing the leader of one-quarter of the world's population - the effect was stunning," reported the Sydney Morning Herald. "There was an almost audible intake of breath among the scores of Chinese political and business heavyweights in the audience. Many sat bolt upright in their chairs, beaming at Rudd's virtuosity."

But not everybody was impressed. Rudd's language skills appeared to be the envy of his political rivals, who called him a "show off" in the lead-up to last year's Australian federal election.

The foreign minister at the time, Alexander Downer, told ABC radio there was no need for the Labor leader to do the interview in Mandarin. "I'm familiar with those types of people who like to show off but I don't think, realistically, there are a lot of votes in the People's Republic of China for Kevin Rudd to win."

Rudd won my vote and I live in China.

But Rudd's Chinese speeches were not designed to garner votes. The prime minister speaks Chinese because he can. If you can speak Spanish and meet other Spanish-speakers and start using your common language, are you showing off?

However, if Rudd really wanted to show off he could because the 51-year-old father of three has a lot to boast about.

The son of a share farmer and a nurse was top of his rural Queensland school. He was not born into great wealth and his family did not wield strong political influence nor hobnob in high society circles. Through his own hard work, and natural ability, Rudd has been posting achievement, after achievement ever since.

Interestingly, in 1972 he joined the Australian Labor Party at the age of 15 in the same year Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam established official relations with Beijing. This relationship has blossomed into a mutually beneficial union between two nations and Rudd's visit can only improve the relationship.

The author is a senior editor of China Daily

(China Daily 04/08/2008 page9)