China has made tremendous progress in many fields in the past years thanks to its far-sighted policies of reform and opening-up, according to a well-known Swiss Sinologist.

The reform policies have not only led to fast economic growth and the improvement of people's living standards, but also opened the door for exchanges with the outside world and made China an influential world power, Professor Harro von Senger told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Von Senger, a leading Sinologist and law expert, is best known for introducing China's ancient "36 stratagems" to the West in a German book first published in 1988.

A frequent visitor to China, he said the country's progress has also covered the area of human rights.

"Now the Chinese government attaches great importance to human rights, and it holds a very open attitude on this issue," he said, adding that he was in Beijing in April for a workshop on human rights and development.

Von Senger, who studied at Peking University from 1975 to 1977, said he was impressed by the progress Chinese universities have made in the past three decades and also lauded the country's overall educational system.

"In the 1970s, only a few Chinese universities ran law courses, and those courses were only limited to domestic students," he recalled.

"So I chose history and philosophy, two of the four majors that were on offer to foreigners as well at Peking University," he said.

"Now the situation is completely different..., nearly all major Chinese universities have a Department of Law, and all courses are open to foreigners," he added.

According to the Sinologist, the policies of reform and opening-up are a product of the forethought of Chinese leaders, and there is no doubt that these policies will continue in years to come.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2008)