Since the convening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) five years ago, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as its core has firmly promoted a major-country diplomatic approach based on a series of characteristics. It has thus helped build a peaceful international environment and sound relationships with its neighbors.
China's successful practice of diplomacy is based on a new type of international relations, one based on win-win cooperation and building a human community of shared destiny. The Asian giant's approach to diplomacy has garnered plaudits worldwide.
Prominent diplomacy theory
China should develop its own major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, Xi stressed in a Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in 2014.
China's features, style, and manner are to be highlighted in addressing external and diplomatic issues.
The Party Central Committee has developed new thoughts, new concepts and new strategies in the governance of China and addressing foreign affairs. Combining China's diplomatic practice with its traditional culture significantly enriches the theoretical system of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
The ideas China has brought up in recent years include the Chinese Dream, peaceful development, strategic thought, a global partnership network, and new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at its core.
China has proposed a new concept of global governance, which features the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and is rooted in the norm of equality for all in terms of sovereignty, rights, opportunities and rules.
It has also proposed building a human community of shared destiny which was incorporated into a United Nations (UN) resolution for the first time, mirroring global recognition of the concept.
A correct viewpoint of righteousness and benefits; concepts of equality, openness, cooperation and sharing in global economic governance; and a view on security that is comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable are all what China has been cheering for.
Global partnership network
China insists fostering partnerships based on dialogue and non-confrontation and state-to-state relationships based on partnerships rather than alliances.
Up until the end of 2016, China has befriended about 100 countries or international organizations with different types of partnerships. It has strong relationships with all of the world's major countries, its neighbors as well as the developing world, thereby enriching China's foreign policy framework.
The successful Mar-a-Lago meeting between the Chinese and the U.S. heads of state has kept the Sino-U.S. relationship right on track. The comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia continues to grow. Peace, growth, reform and a relationship between civilizations are the focus of China's ties with the European Union. New powers and developing countries are cooperating at a greater level than before with China. Amity, sincerity, mutual benefits and inclusiveness are part of China's philosophy regarding its surrounding countries. Concrete cooperation plans have been rolled out with developing countries around the world.
Responsible major country
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will take an active part in international and regional affairs and play a bigger role in solving problems through a more Chinese approach.
In the past five years, China has reinforced efforts to safeguard sovereignty, security and its own development interests.
Under the concept of "diplomacy for the people," great progress has been achieved in China's efforts to protect its nationals overseas. In the past five years, China has successfully evacuated its people out of conflict-torn overseas areas on nine occasions. Over 100 cases of kidnapping or attacking Chinese abroad have been carefully handled and nearly 300,000 consular cases have been dealt with.
Five-years of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has also demonstrated China's responsibility in addressing global hot issues.
China has played a central role in working to resolve issues of global concern, including Iran's nuclear program, Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan and the Korean Peninsula. China has also left an indelible mark on the world through its peacekeeping work, the Paris Agreement and addressing public health emergencies including the Ebola epidemic.
"As the second largest financial contributor, China's contribution to peacekeeping is extremely important," said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, who highly commended the quality of China's contingent and equipment.
In the past five years, China has actively promoted reform of the institutions of global governance. Against the backdrop of anti-globalization sentiment and a sluggish world economy, China proposed the idea of building an innovative, open, interconnected and inclusive world economy.
World Economic Forum founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said the Chinese president's speech on globalization was "very important" and "brought us some sunshine" at this historic moment.
Michael Moller, director-general of the United Nations Office in Geneva, hailed China's role as a catalyst and as one "showing the way forward" in promoting the creation of a better world, saying when China decides to go in a certain direction, a lot of people will follow.
In 2013, Xi proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative. Over 100 countries and international organizations have expressed support for or participated in the initiative, and investments from the Silk Road Fund has amounted to more than 4 billion dollars.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres explained reasons why the China-proposed initiative has won worldwide attention. "We need the initiatives of international solidarity" to "make people believe that free trade can benefit all, to make people believe that's possible not to leave anyone behind."
A better world benefits the development of China, and China will make more contributions to the causes of world peace and development. The end goal is simple: to build a global community with a shared future.