BEIJING, Jan. 28,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global landscape has, in
recent years, gone through profound, complex and turbulent changes
since the end of the Cold War. In the eyes of geopolitical
observers, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the intensifying
geopolitical tensions and the "ripple effects" of the Ukraine crisis have led to growing upheaval in
the global financial and economic sectors, while also posing a
serious threat to food and energy security. Certain countries
continue to blatantly advocate for decoupling, confrontation, and
division, further exacerbating an already dire global
situation.
In the face of growing challenges, China fully underscores its responsibility as
a major country, actively promoting international cooperation and
injecting stability into a turbulent world, providing new growth
momentum to global governance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made three trips overseas in 2022
and visited five countries between September and December, offering
China's solution, contribution and
wisdom to global governance. Such trips are not only proof of the
busy schedules maintained by a major country's top leader, but also
bear witness to China's undeniable
successes in initiating and executing major-country diplomacy,
observers said.
Diplomatic footprints
On September 14, 2022, Xi arrived
in Nur-Sultan and began his state visit to the Republic of
Kazakhstan, and was warmly
received at the airport by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of
Kazakhstan, accompanied by senior
Kazakh officials.
The golden autumn brought fair winds and wispy clouds to the
city of Nur-Sultan, now called Astana. Atop flagpoles lining the
streets, China's red five-starred
national flags flew high.
Xi's visit, albeit a brief one, was highly productive and
fruitful. Xi and Tokayev reached many important consensus, which
will steer China-Kazakhstan relations toward an even more
prosperous future.
Over the course of three days and two nights, Xi flew to
Nur-Sultan and then Samarkand and, during a 48-hour stay, attended
nearly 30 multilateral and bilateral events with twin focuses on
security and development. Despite its brevity, the visit had many
highlights and resulted in fruitful outcomes. With the visit's
facilitation, the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) took a new step forward. The visit also
successfully propelled China's
relations with relevant countries to new levels.
"It was the first foreign trip made by President Xi since the
start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was warmly welcomed by host
countries and closely observed by the international community. His
attendance at the Samarkand Summit of the SCO and his state visits
to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan restarted the head of state's
diplomatic visits," Xu Bu,
secretary-general of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center
and president of the China Institute of International Studies, told
the Global Times in a recent interview.
On November 14, 2022, Xi flew to
Bali, Indonesia, which was also
his first foreign trip after the conclusion of the 20th National
Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Xi both attended bilateral gatherings and participated in more
than 30 events in six days, which sent out resounding
messages on the promotion of global development, while
demonstrating China's role as a
rational, confident and responsible major country.
In his speech at the G20 summit, Xi called on G20 members to
stand with each other in the face of risks and challenges, join
hands together, and elevate win-win cooperation to new heights.
Xi's speeches conveyed an important message which highlighted
the concept of building a global community with a shared future,
emphasizing that countries with different cultural, religious,
racial, historical and political systems as well as ideologies can
entirely achieve stable mutual relations on the basis of mutual
respect, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International
Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global
Times in a recent interview.
"We are in a multipolar world. To let most countries share the
dividends of the joint development and cooperation is the main
target of restructuring the global order," Li said.
Reviewing past decades characterized by robust economic
cooperation and remarkable growth in the region, Xi said in a
written speech at the APEC CEO Summit in Thailand that "the Asia-Pacific miracle has been created by all
of us working hand in hand and overcoming difficulties and
obstacles."
The region owes decades of rapid growth to a peaceful and stable
environment, Xi said at the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on
November 18, 2022. "History has
proven time and again that only openness, inclusiveness, and
win-win cooperation is the right way forward for humanity," the
Chinese president said.
"Xi's series of multilateral and bilateral diplomatic activities
have underscored China's
international status and influence," Xu
said.
President Xi visited
Saudi Arabia from December 7 to 10, 2022, which not only yielded
fruitful results in the economic and trade sectors but also
demonstrated that China will
increasingly contribute to peace in the strategically important
Middle East while continuing to
play the role of a contributor to regional development.
Forward looking
China greatly advanced its
diplomatic agenda in 2022, with head-of-state diplomacy setting the
pace for the country's overall diplomatic work, which was
highlighted by one home-ground event, two major initiatives, and
three important visits, former Chinese foreign minister
Wang Yi said in December when
reviewing the country's diplomatic work in 2022. Wang is currently
the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the
Communist Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee.
Experts believe that the overall success of China's diplomatic efforts helped China navigate complex global and regional
issues, consolidate consensus, and strike a balance in maintaining
strategic stability in its relations with other major countries
such as the US and Russia.
Since the APEC 2023 meeting of economies will be hosted by the
US and the G20 Summit will be hosted by India later in 2023, Chinese observers, who
have closely followed the Chinese president's diplomatic
footprints, predict that major issues and questions such as the
Ukraine crisis, relations between
major powers such as US-EU relations and China-US relations will
continue being the focus in line with the current geopolitical
trend.
"In 2023, the global situation will focus on two major topics -
security and development. " Xu
said.
It remains to be seen whether the US-Russia relations, the
China-US relations and the US-EU relations will be more volatile or
moderate. But either outcome will have a significant impact on
global peace and development, he said.
Also, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said during a video conference with Xi at the end of
2022 that he looks forward to having an in-person meeting with Xi
when the latter is on a "state visit to Moscow in the spring of 2023," TASS
reported.
Wang Yi, the former foreign
minister, also said in the review of China's 2022 diplomatic work that the
head-of-state diplomacy will reach a new climax in 2023. With the
adjustment and optimization of China's epidemic measures, Chinese experts
also expect more renewed people-to-people exchanges between
China and the rest of the world,
creating more opportunities for face-to-face communication and
cooperation.
"In 2023, China will actively
expand its global partnership featuring equality, openness, and
cooperation, and promote the building of major-country relations
featuring peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced
development," Xu said.
This includes China deepening
strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation between
China and Russia, and cement the China-Russia
comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. Meanwhile,
China will follow through on the
common understandings reached between the Chinese and US
presidents, strive to recalibrate the China-US relationship, and
bring it back on the right track, according to the Chinese Foreign
Ministry.
China will take a clear stand
against all hegemony and power politics, fighting back against
external forces' attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs, and firmly safeguard
national sovereignty, security, and development interests, Xu
noted.
"It will also actively advocate for the common values of all
mankind and promote a new type of international relations in
implementing the Global Development Initiative and the Global
Security Initiative that China has
proposed," he said.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-xis-footprints-convey-chinas-contribution-injecting-stability-to-a-turbulent-world-301732926.html
SOURCE Global Times