Interview: Russian businessman sees great progress in China

Special Report:
Global Financial Crisis

by Hai Yang, Zhao Jialin

MOSCOW, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Mikhail Bayev, owner of a tea culture club in
Moscow who visits China every year, is amazed at constant developments in the
major developing country.

Bayev, in his 50s, told Xinhua recently that "so many changes have taken
place in China, it is difficult to describe in just a few words."

When first visiting Beijing in the early 1990s, Bayev was struck most by
the cramped, inconvenient living conditions of the traditional courtyard houses.

He said no houses had private toilets and most families shared a communal
one, and in winter, people had to stockpile coal to ensure heating.

However, in only a matter of years his friends who once lived in courtyard
houses, had moved into newly-built apartments with modern facilities.

Bayev said besides Beijing, he was also impressed with the rapid
development of other smaller cities in China.

While traveling in areas of southwest China's Yunnan Province to buy Puer
tea, Bayev said the first thing that caught his attention was the
well-constructed roads and convenient transportation.

When visiting the homes of local people, he was amazed that most were
equipped with modern household appliances.

"Some homes had solar panels and even satellite TV antennas on their
roofs," he said.

Bayev has visited almost all the popular tea producing areas of China,
including the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, the central province
of Henan, and the southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan.

"All the people with whom I made contacts with are just ordinary folks.
Over the last 10 years, their lives have got better and better," he said.

"All this proves that the policies of your country are correct," Bayev
said.

He said the China's policies were becoming more open and the country was
making great progress on environmental issues.

Bayev recalled that he once planned to learn martial arts in China during
the 1960s, but the strained ties between China and the former Soviet Union
prevented him from doing so.

"But today China is a highly open and civilized country. People can all
feel at ease no matter who the person -- natives or foreigners," Bayev said.