The Chinese people can celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with great pride in the past and robust confidence in the future, an American law expert in Chicago said Tuesday.

Judy Curry, who is the co-chair at the Education Subcommittee of Chicago Sister Cities International, has witnessed China's development over the last 30 years.

Curry first came to China as a tourist in 1978 and in the 1980s she traveled regularly to China carrying out various US-government-funded projects and taught at East China Law School as a foreign expert.

"The Communist Party has not only survived but has reinvented itself, fostering an economy of 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty," Curry said in an interview with Xinhua.

China has become one of the world's largest economies and raised "beyond its wildest dreams the standard of living and the quality of education and health care for the citizens," she said.

On China's role on the world stage, Curry complimented it as remarkable growth over a relatively short time.

"China has emerged as a giant in the new global political economy. It is a stabilizing force in the world, supporting the six party talks, stepping in to assist the US in the latest financial crisis, and promoting infrastructure and manufacturing in poor countries in Africa, " Curry said.

As a member of the China Committee of Chicago Sister Cities, Curry had accompanied Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley and many other civic and business leaders on various trips to China.

Commenting on the changes that she has seen over the last 30 years, instead of listing the spectacular improvements at a macro level, Curry gave some of her everyday life examples to showcase the significant changes China has undergone.

The first major improvement is in international travel. "Unlike today's direct 12-hour flight, travel to Beijing in 1978 required a flight to San Francisco, continuing to Tokyo for an overnight stay and yet another flight to the small, unheated Capital Airport of Beijing," she said.

The next thing that impressed her most is the Chinese people are getting more used to seeing foreigners on the street, she said. "Stopping on a street in Shanghai or Beijing in the 1980s to study a map or buy a souvenir, I was immediately surrounded by crowds who were eager to see and sometimes touch the 'Laowai'."

Curry also noticed that the whole country is becoming more colorful and fashionable. In the early days of the reform and opening up policy, although children wore colored clothing, "adults were a sea of gray and navy -- most men in Zhongshan suits."

"Today, women wear jewelry and makeup. The boutiques and fashionable department stores feature every imaginable style -- now a seeming reappearance of the more traditional qipao (cheongsam) at upscale dinner parties," she added.

"In the winter of 1987, I was part of a seemingly never-ending line of people waiting to dine in the new KFC in the Qianmen District of Beijing. Today as I walk in the neighborhoods, there is such an amazing choice -- outdoor food stalls, supermarkets, neighborhood groceries," Curry added.

Curry said she was especially impressed with Chinese people's English speaking skills.

"Chinese in the 1970s-1980s generally did not speak to foreigners. Today, even in the remote villages of Tibet, a lost tourist can almost always find a child who speaks English," she said.

Talking about China's future development, Curry believes that the RMB will have a great influence as China tries to internationalize its currency. "Foreign companies can now list their stocks on the Chinese exchanges, in RMB. China has issued bonds in RMB to offshore investors," she said.

She also pointed out the challenges that China will face. "Chinese leaders apparently understand the risks of maintaining an economy built on exports and the conflicting interests of industrial growth vs. caring for the environment," she said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2009)