In the latest move by some countries to construct new embassies or give their missions in Beijing a makeover, the Australian embassy will spend $20 million refurbishing its already elegant building, the Australian ambassador announced yesterday.

The refurbishment will cover much of the embassy's high-traffic areas and incorporate all four levels of the Chancery building.

A new 2,500-sq m annex building will also be constructed on the site, the ambassador added.

The project will begin immediately after the 2008 Olympics and is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, said the number of embassy staff had increased to 190 resident Australian diplomats and their families and 120 Chinese staff.

He recalled there were about 32 Australian staff and 60 Chinese employees when construction of the embassy was completed in 1992, making it one of more iconic buildings in Beijing.

"The Australian embassy in China is one of our biggest embassies in the world," Raby said.

It is a sign that Australia attaches more importance to its relations with China, the ambassador said.

Woods Bagot, a global studio specializing design and consulting that operates in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, will implement the project with Chinese local design institute UAD and multinational engineers Arup.

"The (Australian) government demanded new thinking for a new diplomatic era in China," Jason Marriott, managing principal of Woods Bagot, said.

The Australian embassy is located in the second diplomatic neighborhood on Dongzhimenwai Street.

The first diplomatic neighborhood is near Jianguomenwai and a third one is north to Liangmahe.

The US has plans for a new embassy project in the third diplomatic neighborhood after South Korea and Malaysia finish their new buildings.

Wang Fan, a researcher of international relations with China Foreign Affairs University, said the embassy building and renovation boom symbolized how important China was to foreign countries' diplomatic strategies.

(China Daily October 17, 2007)