28 Ambassador talk

Mr Godet, if you had 24 hours to yourself inBeijing, how would you spend them?

I would definitely pay another visit to the various temples around the city. The Lama Temple and the Temple of Confucius are my personal favourites, along with the Fayuan Temple – especially for its fabulous collection of buddhas. There are some fine temples in the mountains to the west of the city, too. Go there and you’ll really feel you’re in China: sometimes in Beijing

顾博礼先生，作为瑞士驻华大使，

您百务缠身。想象一下，如果您有24小时

属于您自己的时间，您会在北京做什么？

毫无疑问，我将会游览城市里各个寺

庙。我最喜欢的是雍和宫、孔庙和法源

寺。我特别喜欢法源寺里所收藏的佛像。

还有北京西面郊区的山上有很漂亮的寺

庙。在哪里给予我人在中国的感觉。有的

时候，在北京市区的感觉跟美国的城市差

不多。或者我会在北京的公园里散步。北

Five questions to Blaise Godet

InformationBlaise Godet (64) has been based in Beijing since 2008 as Switz­erland’s ambassador to China, Mongolia and North Korea. In previous assignments he was stationed in Geneva as Switzer­land’s ambassador to the United Nations, in Cairo, where he was responsible for Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea, and in Bangkok, where his remit com­prised Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cam­bodia. He is a quali­fied attorney, having studied law in his hometown of Neu­châtel. Blaise Godet is married and has a daughter, a son and two grandchildren. He will retire in the summer of 2012.

(Blaise Godet）2008

年成为瑞士驻北京大

使，负责中国、蒙古

和朝鲜的事务。此

前，他是瑞士日内瓦

驻联合国的大使。之

后作为瑞士大使被派

驻埃及开罗（负责埃

及、苏丹和厄立特里

亚）和泰国曼谷（负

责泰国、老挝、缅甸

和柬埔寨）。他曾在

他的故乡纳沙泰尔接

受大学教育并成为一

位合格的律师。顾博

礼先生已婚，有一个

女儿，一个儿子和两

个孙子。他将在2012

年夏天退休。

Text: Tanya König, Photo: Pawel Maciejewski

Ambassador talk 29

you could just as easily be in a city in the USA. I might spend some of the time strolling in the parks, too. Not many people know it, but Beijing is like London: it has a lot of green spaces.

How do you feel about SWISS’s new non­stop service between Zurich and Beijing?

I’m delighted! The new services are bound to intensify bilateral relations between Switzerland and China: the new non­stop flight will be a huge boost in political, trade and cultural exchange terms. And it will, of course, help to promote tourist travel, too. I feel that the introduction of the new service reflects the quality of the relations between our two countries. SWISS is, like our embassy’s visa desk, a calling card for Switzerland: if a customer has little idea of the country, it’s the welcome they get – at our desk or as they step aboard – that will form their first impression.

What do you think Chinese visitors expect from Switzerland?

I think many of them still associate the place with “Heidi”. They want mountains and unspoilt landscapes. I have nothing against this. On the contrary: it’s a good starting point for discovering our country. But Switzerland is much more than “Heidi”: it’s high tech, too! And I would like the Chinese to come to see Switzerland more as a possible partner in the education, research and innovation fields.

And what would you like Swiss visitors to see in China?

The complexity of the country. China is more than Beijing, Shanghai and Xian. It also has underdeveloped provinces that need to be helped forward. In some ways it’s still a poor country, but one with phenom­ enal potential. And it’s a nation that’s de termined to continue its social and eco­ nomic development. I would like my fellow Swiss to see and feel this energy, and take some of it with them, too. And I urge them all to engage themselves more with this fascinating country!

What has been your personal highlight since you took up your post here?

The moment Switzerland and China agreed to start talks on a free­trade agree­ ment. It’s vitally important for both our countries to maintain and intensify their exchange. Because doing so can substan­tially open up Swiss access to the Chinese market and Chinese access to the Swiss. ·

京跟伦敦一样，是一个拥有很多绿地的城

市。但只有少数的人注意到这一点。

现在瑞士航空每天都从瑞士苏黎世飞往北

京。

我很期待这趟飞行！这将加强中国和瑞

士的双边关系。直飞航班对于政治、商贸

和文化交流都是有益的。而且有助于旅游

业的促进。我相信，这是反映两国之间友

好关系的一面镜子。瑞士航空就像我们大

使馆里的签证柜台一样，是一张代表瑞士

的名片。有不熟悉瑞士的客人来访，柜台

工作人员或者瑞士航空乘务员的一句问

候，将是我们国家给予客人的第一印象。

中国人对瑞士有什么期待？

我相信，提到瑞士的话中国人就会联想

到《海蒂》。他们期待看见高山、干净的

湖泊，和未受破坏的自然风景。我不反

对，恰恰相反，这是一个好的开始，去探

索我们的国家。瑞士拥有的不单单是海

蒂，还有高科技。我希望，中国人可以把

瑞士看作是教育、研究和创新的未来伙

伴。

您对到访中国的瑞士人有什么期待？

我希望他们对这个多元化的国家进行探

索。中国不但有北京、上海和西安，而且

中国还有有待开发的落后省份，就某些方

面而言是一个贫穷的国家，却拥有巨大的

潜力。中华民族是决心持续发展他们社会

和经济的民族。我希望我的国民可以留意

到这股动力，并加以学习吸收。我呼吁瑞

士人增加对中国的关注。

您进驻北京之后，哪一刻是最美好的？

就是，当瑞士和中国商定，开始就自由

贸易协定进行谈判那一刻。维护和加强双

方的交流，对于瑞士和中国来讲都是很重

要的。双方都可以更方便地进入对方的市

场。

到夏天您就退休了，您有什么打算吗？

这是一个完美的时机。我将会宁静地离

开这个舞台。我有几个计划，其中之一就

是我想看着我的孙子成长。但无论如何我

都会回到中国。我不可以把这个，我曾经

渡过了四年的国家抛之脑后。我有意向，

和各方保持联系。·