Xi's worldwide diplomacy benefits China, the world

BEIJING -- For those who are eager to learn about the world's second largest economy and its impact on the world, President Xi Jinping has offered the answer: China is committed to jointly building a community of common destiny with other nations worldwide.

CHINESE DREAM

Understanding the Chinese dream is a key to understanding China. In November 2012, Xi explained the notion of the Chinese Dream when visiting the "The Road Toward Renewal" exhibition in Beijing.

"In my view, to realize the great renewal of the Chinese nation is the greatest dream for the Chinese nation in modern history," Xi said.

"I believe that by the time the Communist Party of China marks the 100th anniversary of its founding, the goal to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be inevitably achieved," he said during the visit.

When it comes to the 100th anniversary of the founding of New China in 2049, the goal of building an affluent, strong, civilized and harmonious socialist modern country will certainly be fulfilled, and the dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will inevitably be accomplished, Xi said.

More than three years have passed since then. The world now has a better idea of China's outlook of peace, development, security and international order under the context of realizing the Chinese dream.

The following remarks, made by Xi during a collective study session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's Political Bureau in November 2013, may help observers understand the underpinning of China's worldwide diplomacy.

"To realize our goals, we must have a peaceful international environment. Without peace, China and the world could not enjoy smooth development; without development, China and the world could not enjoy lasting peace," Xi said at the study session.

NEIGHBORHOOD DIPLOMACY

Developing relations with neighbors has been a highlighted priority of China's diplomacy.

Addressing a seminar on neighborhood diplomacy in October 2013, Xi put put forward guiding principles for neighborhood diplomacy featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness.

The significance of neighborhood diplomacy can be seen from Xi's agenda. Xi has devoted half of his visits abroad to neighboring countries, visiting Southeast Asia three times and visiting central Asia, South Asia and Northeast Asia two times respectively.

Xi stressed that the Chinese dream should be connected to the aspirations of people in neighboring nations who want a better life and to the regional prospects of development, nurturing the sense of a community of common destiny.

LINK CHINA WITH THE WORLD

The goal of building a community of common destiny goes beyond the local neighborhood.

Xi once told a conference on foreign affairs that China must have diplomacy with its own characteristics. He then defined the Chinese dream as one of peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcome. By this definition, he linked China's future with the destiny of the world.

The president has since actively put his design into practice.

After he was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in Nov. 2012, Xi has conducted 19 visits abroad, spending more than 133 days outside the country. The distance he travelled amounted to orbiting the Earth ten times.

In the meantime, he met with 165 state and government leaders on home soil.

All his effort is not only for the Chinese dream but also for the shared destiny and future of the world as a whole.

CREATIVE DIPLOMATIC STYLE

Xi's diplomacy is in line with the traditional format for major countries, neighbors, developing countries and multilateral occasions, but he is also innovating.

In June 2013, Xi paid a visit to the United States, where he and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama held talks at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in California.

On the evening of Nov. 11, 2014, President Xi Jinping and the visiting U.S. president discussed building a new-type major country relationship between China and the U.S. at Yingtai in the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in downtown Beijing.

His creativity has not been limited to China-U.S. relations. In February 2014, Xi attended the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Russia, opening a new chapter of sports diplomacy.

Xi also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province, in May 2015. The meeting has been referred to as hometown diplomacy as it was the first time Xi hosted a foreign leader in his hometown.

Europe has also been a heavy focus for Xi's diplomatic activities. Xi visited The Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium in March 2014 and paid a visit to Britain in October 2015.

CHINA'S PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT

China organized a massive military parade on Sept. 3 last year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

It was a picture-perfect parade to show the world how far the country has come after a bitter victory seven decades ago and also how far it will go for hard-won peace and order.

On the Tian'anmen Rostrum, where late Chinese leader Mao Zedong pronounced the birth of New China in 1949, Xi highlighted China's aspirations for peace while announcing a slash in the number of military troops by 300,000.

"China will remain committed to peaceful development. We Chinese love peace. No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation," Xi said.

As the world's second largest economy is still a developing country, it needs a stable environment both at home and at its doorstep to sustain growth.

A nation charting new courses to its rejuvenation, the country now needs a peaceful international environment more than ever.

COOPERATION, NOT CONFRONTATION

Cooperation is another keyword in Xi's diplomatic master plan. The Belt and Road Initiative illustrates China's aspiration for cooperation.

The initiative, which is comprised of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was brought up by Xi in 2013, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.p So far, more than 60 countries and international organizations have expressed interest in active involvement in the construction of the Belt and the Road, while a number of major bilateral and multilateral projects have been under way.

The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), formally established last month, also adds to that vision of connectivity across Asia.

Tasked with financing infrastructure construction across Asia, it took just two years for the bank to develop from an idea on paper to a fully-fledged body with 57 developed and developing nations as prospective founding members.

A CHINESE SOLUTION

In a world struggling with sluggish economic recovery and no new growth engines yet in sight, Xi has offered a Chinese solution to the much needed world economic governance reform.

The 2014 APEC Beijing meetings, themed "Shaping the Future Through Asia-Pacific Partnership," saw APEC members agree to start a joint strategic study on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), marking the official launch of the FTAAP process.

China is also staking its leading role in a global climate deal in Paris, where envoys from nearly 200 countries approved in December a landmark climate accord which stated that global warming should be capped at two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.

By submitting its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and pledging 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) to help other developing countries cope with climate change, China has set an exemplary role model for the world.

As the year 2016 begins, China is again at a new starting line in its race toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As China pursues a new-type international relations featuring cooperation and win-win results, the world will continue to benefit from China's development.