'As an old friend of the Chinese people, I'm proud of China's fast development,' Vladislav Drinek, a well-known Czech sinologist and a former minister-counselor to China, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Drinek's unbreakable bond with China dates back to the early 1950s when he studied Chinese at Peking University in Beijing. He later studied and graduated from China Foreign Affairs University. In the 1960s and 1990s, he was dispatched to work in the Czech Embassy in China as a diplomat. While he was in Beijing, he made friends with many cultural celebrities. After resigning office, he served as a consultant professor of China Foreign Affairs University and was invited to give lectures in China a number of times. As a member of the European Association of Chinese Studies (EACS), he has actively participated in activities organized by the EACS and the Czech Sinologists Association to introduce China to the world. 'China has changed so much and so fast since 1949, and I witnessed and lived through the fast development when I was there,' said Drinek, now living in a modest apartment in the northwest part of Prague. Drinek was impressed by how much China has progressed in the area of science and technology, and how China's national strength and how the people's living standards have improved. He said these achievements have won China an unprecedentedly high status in the world. 'As an old friend of the Chinese people, I'm proud of what has been going on in China. The best proof of the success of the reform and opening-up policy, as you can see, is the 2008 Beijing Olympics,' he said. The Czech scholar also responded to the so-called 'China threat' theory which argues that when China becomes strong, it will be a threat to the world. 'I argued against this view at many academic conferences here in Prague. This view is untenable,' he said. China has always stressed that it will never seek hegemony even after it becomes a powerful country, Drinek said, adding that China is not a threat to the world, but a guardian of world peace and is playing a more and more important role in world political and economic affairs. Eighty-year-old Drinek, who is not enjoying good health, said he has one wish: to go back to China to see his old friends and the country's new changes. 