On this past New Year’s Day， I had a chance to meet some of my Latin American friends again. We spoke of the many people in that region who had long entertained profound friendship for China. As observers， at close hand or far away， of the earthshaking changes of New China since its founding， they were greatly inspired by China’s rapid development on the socialist path with its own characteristics. In Particular， they hailed the grand goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects set at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012. Marking New Year’s Day， they sincerely congratulated the Chinese people on creating new glory in terms of peaceful development. When we talked about the tremendous contributions made by the great men of several generations in New China， my Latin American friends could not help recalling Premier Zhou Enlai whom they had met many times and who had deeply impressed them. They all described him as a great statesman and outstanding diplomat who had made painstaking efforts and exerted himself to the utmost for the victory of the Chinese revolution， New China’s continuous development and growth and its emerging international status as one of the great powers in the world. The Premier had left a precious legacy： firm conviction of the need for world peace and the equality of all countries， opposition to hegemony and power politics， and pursuit of multipolarization and democratization of international relations. Everyone who had met him admired his outstanding contributions. I told them the coming March 5 would be a particularly memorable day marking the 115th anniversary of the birth of Premier Zhou. I wanted to make a compilation of my Latin American friends’ happy memories of Premier Zhou — his noble characters， his great-man demeanor， his courage， insight and charisma in the international arena， as well as his unique diplomatic style and extraordinary diplomatic skills — to commemorate this great man in history. Everybody said it was a good idea.
　　 Chief Founder of Sino-Latin American People’s Friendship and Diplomatic Relations
　　After the founding of the PRC， because of an American hostile policy of political isolation， economic blockade and military threat， Latin America， located in the “backyard of the United States”， encountered many obstacles and sabotage attempts when trying to develop relations with China. Under such a situation， Premier Zhou， concurrently Foreign Minister at that time， put forward the guideline of giving priority to developing people-to-people contacts and carrying out “people-to-people diplomacy”， and promoting a steady progress of China-Latin America relations on a long-term basis in line with the principle of “waiting patiently， exerting more effort to make friends extensively and promote governmental relations through people-to-people contacts”. Under his guidance and personal care， from the 1950s to the 1970s， we did a pretty good job in people-topeople diplomacy with Latin America. Premier Zhou met with more than 150 groups of visiting Latin American friends， among whom there were elites of political parties， parliament and former political leaders， activists of the peace movement， trade unions， youth， women and friendship organizations， as well as celebrities from the business， cultural and press circles. It was in that period that I was fortunate to interpret for Premier Zhou many times， observing how much hard work went into the course from making friends and enhancing mutual understanding to carrying out cultural and economic and trade exchanges； from supporting safeguard of national sovereignty and anti-imperialism struggle to assisting economic construction， and from setting up nongovernmental organizations to establishing diplomatic relations. China’s relations with Latin American countries made great progress in the 1970s， when 12 Latin American countries， including Cuba and Chile， established diplomatic relations with us. At the 26th United Nations General Assembly in 1971， seven Latin American countries stood by a great number of Asian and African countries and voted for restoring all the lawful rights of the PRC in the United Nations. I deeply felt that every progress made in China-Latin America relations embodied Premier Zhou’s painstaking work and his glorious diplomatic thought. 　　 China-Peru Friendship
　　Peru was the third Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Antonio Fernandez Arce， founder of the Peruvian-Chinese Cultural Institute， is one of the Peruvian friends who have made important contributions to development of the bilateral friendship and the establishment of diplomatic relations. From the 1960s， he worked in China Radio International and Xinhua News Agency for more than 20 years， and was conferred the honorary title of “Foreign Expert with Outstanding Contributions”. Be- fore the establishment of diplomatic relations， he was the only Peruvian expert in China so was often invited to take part in discussions and activities related to his country.
　　One day in May 1970， when the Chinese Government learned that Peru had been hit by a devastating earthquake， it decided to provide aid to the Peruvian people. Premier Zhou himself called a meeting to discuss through what channel it should be provided， for at that time there was no formal channel between the two countries. Mr. Arce and other participants all agreed to Premier Zhou’s plan to provide financial aid of 1.5 million RMB for the Peruvian people through the International Red Cross Society. China’s friendly act left a good impression on people of various circles in Peru.
　　During that period， Peru and some other Latin American countries were waging a struggle to defend their countries’ 200-nautical mile maritime rights， and at the same time they also demonstrated a tendency of political independence and had intention of developing relations with China. The Chinese Government and Premier Zhou， having been fully informed of this， studied the situation and showed a positive attitude， thus playing an important role in promoting China’s relations with Peru and other Latin American countries.
　　Arce recalled that， when Jorge Fernandez Maldonado， the then Minister of Energy and Mines of Peru， visited China in 1971， Premier Zhou met and had a cordial talk with him and the delegation. Premier Zhou said，“We， Chinese， should ask the Peruvian people to forgive us. You have fought for 25 years to defend your legitimate maritime rights； but we have not given much attention to it. Only recently have we become aware of the importance of Peru’s stand in the entire antiimperialism struggle. So， we must ask you to forgive us. Meanwhile， we will solemnly declare to the world that China fully supports Peru and other Latin American countries’ just struggle for defending their maritime rights.”Premier Zhou’s sincere and forceful remarks again expressed China’s support for Peru and other Latin American countries in their just struggle against maritime hegemony and for safeguarding national sovereignty and rights and interest of developing countries， which greatly moved Arce and other participants. China’s vigorous support evoked great repercussion in the political and various social circles of Peru， a major marine country in Latin America， and gave a direct impact to promoting the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 　　With the development of the situation， China also accelerated the pace of developing its relations with Peru. At the end of 1970， in a meeting with foreign experts working in China， Premier Zhou specially talked to Arce， telling him that China wanted to establish formal relations with Peru and hoped to find a channel to establish contacts with the Peruvian Government. Arce knew that the Peruvian consulate in Hong Kong could play a role. He told the Premier that he could go to Hong Kong to discuss the matter with the consul on opening a channel for contacts. Soon after that， China took an action and through the consulate passed an eightpoint memorandum on the development of China-Peru relations to the Peruvian Government. In June 1971， Peru and China signed the summary of the talks on setting up trade representative office in each other’s country. In August 1971， Miguel Barandiaran， Peruvian consul to Hong Kong， was assigned to serve as head of the Peruvian Trade Representative’s Office in Beijing. Arce， being invited to be an advisor， came to Beijing again and busied himself with making preparations for setting up the office and promoting trade ties. The situation developed rapidly. A few months later on November 2， 1971， the two countries established formal diplomatic ties. Till then the great plan for developing bilateral relations had been realized under the Premier’s guidance and personal care. Arce said feelingly that Premier Zhou， well-known for his eloquence and diligence， could be a statesman and diplomat who had the richest experience and was most capable of negotiating in the world； yet， he was so modest and considerate. Through his painstaking and meticulous work， a friendship bridge across the Pacific Ocean was at last built.
　　 Premier Zhou’s Instructive Talk
　　In May 1965， Premier Zhou met with Mr. Villaran， member of the Peruvian Chamber of Deputies， and his party. During the meeting， Villaran said that he admired the valuable experience of Premier Zhou and other Chinese leaders in solving problems in the Chinese revolution and construction； so， he wanted to solicit Premier Zhou’s advice on the situation and political future of Latin America. The Premier， based on the Latin American countries’ political and economic development and important historical events since their independence， gave a comprehensive and in-depth analysis on the situation in the region and the independent development of their national economies through their own efforts. Villaran said that Premier Zhou’s remarks reflected the farsightedness of a great statesman， and that he learned a lot from him. He， as a Latin American， felt ashamed of his lack of understanding and knowledge of issues close to home. The Premier modestly replied that his comments were only his own understanding just for reference. The key was to make thorough investigations and formulate policies in the light of actual local conditions. 　　When talking about the long-term friendly contacts between China and Latin America， a Peruvian guest said Latin America had a special feeling of intimacy with China， because there were many similarities between local indigenous Indian culture and ancient Chinese culture， and they might have a common origin. He said that he could speak the Indian people’s Quechua tongue， a language similar to Asian languages in some aspects. The Premier said， this was a very interesting subject. Some research did prove that， as early as in the Shang Dynasty China already began contacts with Latin America； in particular， there were many exchanges between ancient Chinese civilization and ancient Maya and Inca Indian civilizations. He hoped that experts of the two countries could conduct in-depth researches， exploration and exchanges in this respect， and believed that the history of that period worth further studying and it would help enhance mutual understanding and deepen friendship between the Chinese and Latin American peoples， thus， promoting the two sides to unite and cooperate further under the new historical conditions.
　　Villaran and his party nodded approvingly while listening. Obviously， they were deeply impressed by what Premier Zhou had said. Villaran said with emotion， “To listen to Premier Zhou’s talk is better than to study for ten years. The Premier is so affable and has such a profound knowledge about the history and present situation of Latin America. I pledge to work harder for promoting Peru-China relation.” And， indeed， Villaran immediately began his work after returning home. He reported to the Congress about his trip to China， particularly about the meeting with Premier Zhou， and urged the Congress to pass a resolution on the development of relations with China. He conveyed to Peru’s historical research department Pre- mier Zhou’s suggestion of carrying out researches on friendly exchanges between the ancient civilizations of the two countries. In a word， Premier Zhou’s meeting encouraged Villaran and his party to make efforts to promote the development of friendly relations between the two countries.
　　I also learned a lot from Premier Zhou’s talk. I greatly admired his broad and profound knowledge. To think of it， as a premier of a big country with a population of more than a billion people， it could be imagined how many important domestic and international affairs he needed to be concerned about and handle； yet， he knew so much about Latin America. Moreover， he had such a superb diplomatic skill that he was capable of seizing any opportunity in conversation to carry out his mission. I examined my conscience and felt ashamed. I had studied Latin American history and been engaged in the work dealing with Latin American affairs for several years； but I knew very little about the friendly exchanges between ancient Chinese and Latin American civilizations that Premier Zhou had mentioned. It also taught me that I should step up efforts to learn more to enrich myself， for there is no limit to knowledge. 　　“I am a Servant of the Chinese People”
　　Gustavo Baz， former Minister of Public Health and Assistance and former President of the National Autonomous University of Mexico， is an old friend of the Chinese people. During the time when he served as health minister and president of the university， he did a great deal of useful work for the cooperation and exchanges between China and Mexico in the fields of culture， education， medical and health care. During his visit to China in September 1964， Premier Zhou met with him， and they had a warm and friendly talk for more than two hours about the history and present situation and future development of the China-Mexico friendly relations. At the meeting， Baz asked some questions about China’s family planning. In view of the West’s malicious attacks， Premier Zhou elaborated the positive role of China’s family planning policy. Baz said， he， as a leading official engaged in medical and health work， thought that in practicing family planning， use of induced abortion should be minimized. In respect of production of contraceptives， he said， research institutes of mataria medica in Mexico had advanced technology and produced a kind of raw material for effective contraceptives. He would like to ask Premier Zhou to assign a Chinese medical and health care department to make contact with him， and he would try his best to render help and cooperation. The Premier said that family planning was a very important matter concerning the country’s development and family happiness. He appreciated Baz’s friendly offer， and then urged the Vice President of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs who was present at the meeting to contact the Ministry of Health afterwards so that no time would be wasted in this regard. With the Premier’s personal care， later， China and Mexico conducted fruitful cooperation. At the end of the meeting， Baz expressed his reverence of the Premier， saying he admired his outstanding diplomatic skills and great faculty for leadership. China’s increasing strength and rise of its international standing was inseparable from Premier Zhou’s contributions and the Chinese people should take a pride in having such an outstanding leader. Premier Zhou quietly thanked him for his friendly remarks while stressing that what China had achieved today should be attributed to the leadership of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party of China. He himself only did his duties under the leadership of Chairman Mao. He was a servant of the Chinese people and proud of it. What the Premier had said evoked a strong response from the foreign guests. Baz said： “But， you are an outstanding servant of the Chinese people.” On the way back to the hotel， Baz talked to me all the way about his meeting with the Premier. He said， he had met many leaders of other countries， and he really admired Premier Zhou， such a modest and magnanimous leader. I was also deeply touched. Think of it： Premier Zhou’s fame and contributions deserve veneration for generations， but he regarded himself as a “servant of the Chinese people.” No wonder， his virtue of modesty is widely told and will be cherished forever.
　　In 1978 I visited Mexico and met Baz again. He recalled the earlier meeting， saying Premier Zhou， a premier of a big country， must be extremely busy every day， but he had never neglected anything related to the national economy and people’s livelihood. The saying that “Greatness is accumulated attention to small matters” was a most apt description of Premier Zhou， for he never neglected small things when handling the major issues. The touching remark， “I am a servant of the Chinese people” would always affirm Premier Zhou’s noble character of modesty.
　　 Unforgettable Effects
　　In October 2007， I was invited to attend the Mexico-China： 21st Century Strategic Partnership Forum in Mexico. During the visit， I made a special call on former Mexican President Luis Echeverria， an old friend of the Chinese people， and presented him with my book about friendly exchanges between China and Latin America. I said we had the greatest esteem for him for making outstanding contributions to the promotion of friendly relations between our two countries and peoples. His two visits to China had left a deep impression on me. On mentioning his visits to China， Echeverria got excited and we recalled his first visit to China and the scene of the visit to Beijing and Shanghai accompanied by Premier Zhou in April 1973. What he could not forget was that Premier Zhou told him that in spite of the tight schedule of the visit， one should avoid “looking at flowers from horseback”， because a quick， superficial look would not allow for deep understanding； therefore one should“dismount to look at flowers”， go deep into life and make careful observations so as to gain a deep understanding. It was surprising that Premier Zhou’s advice really had unforgettable effects for his visit.
　　The following was his first experience： When he， accompanied by Premier Zhou， passed Tiananmen Square in a car， he was accorded warm welcome from thousands of people waving flowers and colored streamers. At once， he asked to get off the car to respond to people’s warm welcome. Accompanied by Premier Zhou， he applauded and shook hands with them. His wife warmly hugged young women and greeted each other. Some university students shouted in Spanish “Welcome you！ Mexican President！” The scene was very touching. Echeverria said， the Chinese people were so wonderful that they treated foreign guests friendly and politely， making them feel very warm as if they were back home. This all at once changed his impression of China left on him by the West’s distorted propaganda. 　　He had his second experience in Shanghai. On the way back to the hotel after visiting a people’s commune， they passed by the crowded Nanjing Road. He asked to get off the car to have a look of the market and know about the people’s consumption. It was at noontime. When he saw a restaurant where there were many customers， he wanted to dine with them. He entered the restaurant and sat down at a big table where there were already some people eating. He ordered the same dishes as those the customers were eating and chatted with them. When a customer learned that he was the Mexican President， he immediately extended his welcome and said that China supported Mexico and other Latin American countries in their just struggle for defending their 200-nautical mile maritime rights. Echeverria said he could hardly believe that an ordinary Chinese man in the street of Shanghai knew and supported their struggle in this regard. Even today he could not forget it.
　　Echeverria recalled these sudden changes brought some trouble to the Chinese protocol officers and security guards. But， Premier Zhou understood foreign guests’ needs and arranged things meticulously at all times， fully embodying China’s traditional virtues of treating others with courtesy. He really admired it. This “dismounting to look at flowers” advised by Premier Zhou produced unexpected good results. It was a most rewarding visit， he added.
　　 A Model of Diplomatic Etiquette
　　In May 1975， I joined a CPAFFC delegation and paid a visit to Latin America. In Colombia， Jose Maria Gomez， executive president of the Colombia-China Friendship Association， was responsible for receiving us. He made a perfect schedule for our visit. Being a very careful man， he found that Wang Bingnan， head of the delegation and President of the CPAFFC， very much liked “sancocho”， a soup made of local vegetables， potato and fish. He then told hotel managers in other places to prepare “sancocho” with different local flavors for the Chinese guests every dinner. We were greatly moved by his warm and meticulous arrangement and thanked him. Surprisingly， he said he was only a pupil in the reception etiquette， and the true teacher was Premier Zhou. He once heard a story from Wang Bingnan about Premier Zhou’s instruction on the dinner etiquette. It happened at a dinner given by Premier Zhou in honor of world-famous comedian Charlie Chaplin and his wife when he， accompanied by Wang Bingnan， attended an international conference in Geneva. At the dinner a dish of duck meat was served. They had never expected that duck was a food Chaplin avoided. Due to this incident， later Premier Zhou instructed that at future diplomatic dinners， we should respect and take into consideration our guests’ customs and diet； particularly we must not serve the kind of food that our guests avoid and still less impose on them our own favorite food. Gomez said， he himself had deep impressions of it when he visited China. The dish “long hu dou”（battle between dragon and tiger） made of snake meat and the dish “hou nao”（monkey brain） made by crushing the head of a monkey were very famous and popular and served as the best food in Canton in those days， but many foreign guests couldn’t stand them. So， later they disappeared on the menu of the banquet given by Chinese hosts. 　　On hearing this， what Premier Zhou had once said about etiquette in communication immediately came to my mind. The Premier said， etiquette was not a small matter， because it could play a role of lubrication and intermediary， and adhesion and catalyst as well， and was absolutely necessary for expressing feelings， strengthening friendship and enhancing understanding. In my diplomatic career I was also enlightened by and benefited from this teaching of Premier Zhou.
　　In 1997 I served as Chinese Ambassador to Uruguay. One day in March， I had a discussion with the Secretary General of the Office of President about the specific arrangements for the schedule of President Julio Maria Sanguineti’s visit to China in April. During the discussion I mentioned， as President Jiang Zemin would give a State banquet， we wanted to know the president’s special requests regarding the menu. The Secretary General said，“Ambassador， you are very thoughtful and have reminded us timely. There is really one Chinese delicious dish that our president is not used to. That is “hai shen”， it is translated “sea cucumber”. But， as its shape resembles a caterpillar， we can’t stand it. If there is this dish on the menu， we hope it will be replaced.”As expected， after receiving my report， the department concerned in the Chinese Foreign Ministry made a timely adjustment and replaced sea cucumber with beefsteak that Uruguayan people liked. At the banquet， President Jiang and President Sanguineti talked happily about this matter. I sat by their side， feeling deeply that Premier Zhou’s superb diplomatic skills， his modest， frank and honest diplomatic style and sincerity towards friends not only showed the new spirit of our country， but also won friends and their respect. All this is the precious diplomatic wealth that we should inherent.
　　 Great Love
　　On January 8， 1976， our beloved Premier Zhou passed away. When the sad news came to Peru， a Peruvian girl was deeply grieved. On that day she went to the Chinese Embassy in Peru to offer her condolence. In front of the portrait of the deceased Premier， she stood in silent tribute with the utmost deference and wrote down her grief over the death of him on the book of condolence. Then she walked up to Jiao Ruoyu， Chinese ambassador to Peru， and hard to control her grief， she held his hands tightly. This little girl was Peruvian expert Arce’s daughter. She had a kind of special feeling towards Premier Zhou. In 1999， on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China， she wrote an article entitled China Is in My Blood and Heart to express her boundless gratitude to China and the Premier. 　　It was in February 1970. Shortly after her birth， Mei Mei （Flor de Maria Fernandez）， who was unfortunately suffering from septicemia， was given emergency treatment in the Beijing Children’s Hospital. At that time her father Arce was an expert of Spanish language working for Radio Beijing （now， China Radio International）. Though he was very much worried about his daughter on the verge of death， he worked as hard as usual. When Premier Zhou learned about it at a dinner with foreign experts， right away， he enjoined the department concerned to give the girl the best treatment and “spare no efforts to save the Peruvian girl’s life.” Mei Mei needed to have blood transfusion once and again. But in the blood bank of the hospital there wasn’t much left of the blood plasma of her type. The medical department in charge immediately con- tacted an army unit stationed in Beijing. Many officers and soldiers came to the hospital to donate blood. At the critical moment when the serious illness threatened Mei Mei’s life， the PLA soldiers’ blood was transfused into her blood vein time after time before she took a turn for the better and was out of danger. Premier Zhou who worked hard on State affairs day and night was still concerned about Mei Mei’s illness and many times asked staff members in his office to inquire about the progress of the treatment. It was not until he learned that she was fully recovered and left the hospital that Premier Zhou felt relieved and asked a staff member to take his message of congratulations to Arce who was very emotional on receiving the message and asked the staff member to convey his family’s gratitude to the Premier. Arce said， it was universally acclaimed that Premier Zhou always had the well being of the people at heart， but it had never occurred to him that the Premier should have shown so much care and love for a foreign child and treated her just like his own child. Mei Mei owed her life to the good Chinese Premier. To this reason， Arce called his daughter Mei Mei “Chinese girl”. His family would never forget Premier Zhou’s great love and never forget Chinese PLA soldiers’kindness.
　　Several decades have passed as swiftly as the snap of a finger. But， Premier Zhou’s brilliant diplomatic skills， dignified manners， strong sense of integrity and great service to the country will be remembered generation after generation.
　　The author is a council member of the China-Latin America and Caribbean Friendship Association and Honorary President of the Association of Former Diplomats of China. He has served as a deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC and Chinese ambassador to Bolivia and Uruguay.