BEIJING, Dec. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed the role of major-country diplomacy in promoting global peace and prosperity as he summarized the country’s diplomatic performance during the year on Sunday.
“We have conducted major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in an all-round way, making new contribution to upholding world peace and promoting common development,” said Wang in a speech at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations.
Lauding head-of-state diplomacy as having set the pace for China’s overall diplomatic work, Wang singled out the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, bilateral meetings held between Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders of more than 40 countries, and three overseas trips made by Xi before and after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October.
Wang praised the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, witnessed by 31 heads of state, government and international organizations, as having let the international community experience “a more confident, striving, open and inclusive” China.
“The Beijing rendezvous on ice and snow marked a new milestone in the endeavor of the peoples across the world to embrace new hopes and pursue a shared future together,” Wang said.
As for the dozens of bilateral meetings between Xi and leaders from foreign countries, including Vietnam, Pakistan and Germany, after the 20th CPC National Congress, Wang said they not only created peaks for head-of-state diplomacy this year, but also made “a good start to the work of the CPC’s new collective central leadership in China’s foreign affairs.”
The foreign minister also mentioned the international support for the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI) in the speech.
The GSI and GDI were respectively proposed by Xi at the Boao Forum for Asia in April 2022 and at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021.
To date, more than 70 countries have expressed support for the GSI, and more than 100 countries and a number of international organizations, including the UN, have committed support to the GDI and nearly 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI, Wang said.
Relations with major countries and regions were also highlighted in Wang’s speech.
From two phone calls to a face-to-face meeting in Bali between Xi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, Wang said the candid and in-depth communication between the two presidents was constructive and strategic.
“Playing up competition does all harm and no good, and seeking cooperation is a necessity not a choice,” said Wang, adding that China calls on the U.S. to work together to put in place the pillars and a solid foundation for the healthy and stable growth of China-U.S. relations.
Noting Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s two personal meetings respectively in Beijing in February and in Samarkand in September, Wang said both provided strategic guidance for China-Russia relations to move ahead under new circumstances.
Mentioning the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Wang said China has kept to the right direction of promoting peace talks, searched for a solution that addresses root causes of the issue, and stood firm as an anchor of peace instead of fanning the flame of the conflict.
While staying committed to enhancing the friendship and cooperation with both developed and developing countries, Wang noted Xi’s attendance at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council had made the China-Arab relations take historic strides forward.
“As two significant forces and major civilizations, China and the Arab world have joined hands and supported each other in advancing our respective national rejuvenation endeavors and promoting regional peace and development,” Wang said.
Looking ahead to 2023, Wang said that China will keep on promoting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics as the world’s largest developing country embarks on the new journey to build it into a modern socialist country in all respects.
“We will maintain a global vision, forge ahead with greater resolve, and write a new chapter and secure new successes in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics from a broader perspective and through stronger actions,” Wang said.