Xi-style diplomacy brings China closer to world
A China-style major-country diplomacy has taken shape over the past five years through the overseas trips by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The 29 visits to 58 countries and major international and regional organizations across the five continents have helped win Xi the title of "chief diplomat" of China.
The trips have enhanced a leadership role for China in global peace, security, governance and development, and promoted a better understanding worldwide of a Chinese vision and approach that includes win-win cooperation and efforts towards building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Win-win international relations
Chinese President Xi Jinping is awarded by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin the highest order of Russia, or the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, after their talks in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
Xi's first foreign trip since he became Chinese president was to Moscow in March 2013, where he debuted his diplomatic approach.
"To keep up with the times, we cannot have ourselves physically living in the 21st century, but with a mindset belonging to the past, stalled in the old days of colonialism, and constrained by zero-sum Cold War mentality," Xi told an audience at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, while calling for building a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core.
Xi's six visits to Russia and more than 20 meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin on various occasions have lifted China-Russia ties to their best in history. The two countries together serve as an anchor for global peace and security.
"I believe that the model of bilateral relations that we have created should become one of the examples of civilized interaction between countries in the 21st century," Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (1st R), and U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) and his wife Melania Trump pose for a photo in front of Taihedian, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, during their visit to the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
The principles Xi put forward of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation have helped stabilize China-U.S. relations over White House leadership changes and consequent uncertainties.
Xi's exchanges with U.S. President Donald Trump led to the establishment of new high-level dialogue mechanisms between China and the United States in a bid to promote global peace and security.
China-Europe relations have expanded with each of Xi's tours to the continent. China seeks a partnership with the European Union based on peace, growth, reform and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. China's excellent relationship with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have largely eased Europeans' worries about China.
During the past five years, half of Xi's overseas visits were dedicated to promoting ties with China's neighbors, including the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism, the updated version of the China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, among others.
Meanwhile, cooperation with developing countries in Africa and Latin America has grown, with China's involvement in a number of infrastructure and development projects.