China and the Commonwealth should enhance understanding between each other, a top Commonwealth official told Xinhua Wednesday ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to be held in Kampala from Friday to Sunday.

"China has enormous influence on the whole world and therefore it's important for Commonwealth countries to understand China," Donald McKinnon, the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

McKinnon, who was elected Commonwealth Secretary-General at the November 1999 CHOGM in Durban, South Africa, had been to China twice a year when serving as foreign minister of New Zealand.

It is also important for China to know about the Commonwealth, he said. "I wasn't trying to establish a working relationship. I'll just try to establish a situation where when someone mentions the word 'Commonwealth' they knew what it was and what it was doing," he said.

McKinnon, expected to leave his post as Commonwealth Secretary- General very soon, said he would recommend to his successor to continue this kind of contact with China.

On the role of the Commonwealth, McKinnon said it is an unusual organization, whose members came together historically and became more related to the need to respond to today's demands.

The Commonwealth comprises both developed and developing countries, providing a good stage for better understanding among its member countries, according McKinnon.

"The wealthy countries better understand the poor countries. It does give poor countries a great access to the wealthy countries. They know each other very well, they can use each other and benefit from their cooperation," he said.

"The Commonwealth is putting brilliant focus on Africa," McKinnon said. A lot of African countries want to advance their education, health services, and capacity building, which are what the commonwealth catering for, he said.

McKinnon will step down as Commonwealth's secretary-general this year. A new secretary-general is supposed to be elected at this year's CHOGM starting Friday.

More than 5,000 delegates from 53 countries are expected to attend the 2007 CHOGM, the theme of which is "transforming Commonwealth societies to achieve political, economic and human development."

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2007)