The visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday said in Beijing that culture contributes to the dynamic relationship between Australia and China.

Rudd made the remarks during his visit to an exhibition of artistic paintings by Chinese Australians, held in the Australian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday evening.

China has a cultural tradition which goes back to the ancient mythological beginnings when Pangu (the first living being and the creator of all in Chinese mythology) created all. This continuing culture has been recorded with written words on the oracle bones of 4000 years ago, said Rudd.

"That's antiquity and here we see modernity", he said, referring to the paintings on exhibition. He said the modernity of China's cultural achievement is quite breathtaking as can be seen in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other parts of the country.

Rudd said there is another part of modernity that many of the people from different countries live and work in each other's countries just as there are Australian citizens living in Beijing and Chinese living and working in Australia.

"As a result we are producing the extraordinary new works which reflect something of both cultures", said Rudd, calling the new works at the exhibition exciting and interesting.

He read out names of the artists in perfect Chinese.

Rudd said "it's great to be back to the Australian embassy. I began my career here," "with my wife, we spent a couple of wonderful years here in Beijing".

"We saw a lot of this town as we drove a 1969 Toyota Corolla around most streets of the city of Beijing with very few other cars in sight", Rudd added.

Rudd arrived in Beijing early Wednesday, kicking off his four-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Rudd, who can speak fluent Chinese, had once been working at the Australian embassy in China from 1984 to 1986.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2008)