Interview: Fortunate to experience China's rapid development -- former Danish diplomat

COPENHAGEN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- "Can you imagine that there can be live fish and seafood in a supermarket in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, such an inland Chinese city?"

Carsten Boyer Thogersen, a former Danish diplomat in China, talked to Xinhua about the social and economic development of China that he has personally experienced in recent years.

Thogersen, who has worked with China for over 45 years, has served as the Danish consul general in Guangzhou and Shanghai and has visited nearly all Chinese provinces and even some remote rural areas.

"The first time I went to Gansu was around 1990 when I went to Lanzhou, the capital city of the province, which can be considered very poor. But five years ago, I went to the city of Baiyin, north of Lanzhou city. In the evening, when I walked into a newly established supermarket, I found it well-sorted, no different from those in downtown Copenhagen," said Thogersen.

The sightings mentioned above struck Thogersen, who traveled to Gansu again in 2017.

"It was amazing that that supermarket in Baiyin had haixian (seafood in Chinese), flown in from the coastal area."

Thogersen, in his 70s, is a China expert who adores Chinese culture and has studied the Chinese language since he was young. Since 1980, he has used the Chinese name Cao Boyi.

For Thogersen, this is just one example of how China's economic growth has improved the lives of its people in recent years.

Having lived in China continuously for the last 20 years, he has, in his own words, "had the opportunity to see for myself the changes in China, not least in the rural areas."

Thogersen often explained to his foreign friends that China has invested heavily in infrastructure development over the past five to eight years and has made unprecedented changes. China also declared a "comprehensive victory" in its fight against poverty last year.

In 2015, the Danish Chamber of Commerce awarded Thogersen the Business Person Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to serving Danish-Chinese trade relations for more than 35 years.

Currently, China is speeding up the construction of a "dual circulation" development paradigm, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other with the domestic market as the mainstay.

According to Thogersen, this is a holistic policy adjustment based on the international environment and the characteristics of China's domestic market.

"China can not rely completely on the international market, must give priority to ensure the strong and healthy development of domestic market," said Thogersen.

The former Danish diplomat called on European nations, including Denmark, to continue and expand their economic and trade cooperation with China, which is truly in Europe's best interests for its prosperity.

"If China has to continue its economic development, China also has to keep on open doors and take part in the international trade. Simultaneously, European countries, Denmark, in order for our consumers to prosper, we have to continue and expand our trade and economic cooperation with China," Thogersen added.

Thogersen voiced his hope that "the important trade relationship between Europe and China will continue as it has for the past 40 years."