A Western diplomat's 'phenomenal' China story

China is also an important part of Worker's family life. He has two adult sons, one of whom lives and works in Beijing and will remain after his father departs, as well as two younger boys who attended school in the city.

"We really like going walking around famous Chinese historical sites," he says, where he and his wife, Connie Aldao-Worker soak up China's history and there is always plenty of space for the boys to run around.

Connie is a professional chef and restaurateur and the family all love Chinese food. Their favorite family restaurant is Yiheyaju at the northeast corner of Beijing's Ritan Park, he says.

Worker's term as ambassador ends on Friday and the family will return to New Zealand on Monday, but he will continue to be involved in China relations for the foresee-able future, based in his country's business metropolis of Auckland. He says he will assist the development of business ties between New Zealand and China.

Many New Zealanders still don't know as much about China as they need to fully take advantage of all the opportunities here, and his new role will be to offer advice and help businesses and agencies develop Chinese strategies, Worker adds.

China, he says, has made enormous efforts to educate itself on how the West does things, but the West has been slower about doing the same thing in relation to Asia and China.

Asked for an example of how the business cultures of the two countries differ, he says that business leaders in New Zealand and many Western countries are often judged on how well they delegate, while in China, leadership is a critical part of success and leaders still do a lot of tasks themselves.

"Here, things get led from the top."

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