Xi Jinping leads China on new journey

Striving for a better world

As a young man, Xi was already fascinated by the rich diversity of the world. In rural Shaanxi, he devoured literary classics of the world, such as Faust and William Shakespeare's plays. He read Das Kapital three times; his reflections on the book filled 18 notebooks. "Marxism, though wide-ranging and profound, can be summed up in a sentence — the pursuit of the emancipation of humankind," he later observed.

All the early reflections on the world and mankind have contributed to "a community with a shared future for humanity," a vision Xi raised in 2013.

"Mankind, by living in the same global village in the same era where history and reality meet, has increasingly emerged as a community of common destiny in which everyone has in himself a little bit of others," Xi said.

Xi appreciates the diversity of civilization. "There will be no human civilization without diversity," he said.

The CPC keeps in mind the future of humanity, and it should contribute to human progress and world harmony, Xi said.

In 1979, Xi traveled to the Nordic countries as part of the entourage of a vice premier. In Norway, he was quite impressed by the social welfare system.

In 1985, Xi, then a county-level official, traveled as part of a Chinese delegation to the United States on an agricultural research trip. He was accommodated in a homestay in rural Iowa, sleeping in the bedroom of his host family's son, who was at college at the time. The room was decorated with novelties such as "Star Trek" action figures.

Recalling this trip to the United States nearly three decades later, Xi said the Chinese and American peoples have many things in common, and can become good friends and partners for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Xi has visited the United States eight times. He was the first Chinese leader to watch an NBA game in a U.S. arena. When visiting Cuba, he paid a special visit to the breakwater in Cojimar where Hemingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea," and dropped by the bar Hemingway frequented to order a mojito. He said he wanted to feel for himself what was on the American writer's mind and what the place was like when he wrote those stories.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have had approximately 40 meetings since 2013, charting the course of bilateral ties. China and Russia have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. Bilateral trade has increased from 88.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2012 to 146.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The two countries have cooperated on major energy projects such as the eastern route of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline. They have also launched cooperation in such frontier fields as the International Lunar Research Station project.

Xi advocates for the creation of a new model for relations between major countries. Transcending the outdated notions of confrontation and alliance, China has been building a network of global partnerships. "One cannot live in the 21st century with outdated thinking from the age of the Cold War and zero-sum games," Xi said.

China has more neighbors than any other country in the world, and Xi has visited almost all of these neighboring countries. He has stressed the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in forging friendships with China's neighbors. He calls for more win-win cooperation to ensure that China's development will bring even greater benefits to its neighbors.

Xi cherishes China's friendships with other developing countries. At meetings with African leaders, he has announced a series of initiatives for pragmatic cooperation. Xi has urged BRICS countries and other emerging economies to pursue openness and innovation. A BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center has been established in Xiamen, Fujian Province.