Xi's travels present picture of resurgent nation

President has projected a new, forceful image, and added a human touch

President Xi Jinping has, by my count, become the most-traveled Chinese leader of modern times, as he seeks to project the Chinese Dream, in which he promotes the revitalization of China's standing in the world.

Significantly, his first major foreign trip was to Russia, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin, followed by visits to the United States, the United Kingdom and some Asian countries. He has met formally in the US with Barack Obama twice, latterly on a state visit this year, which also saw him make a keynote address to the United Nations. The pledges made on peacekeeping and investment in UN projects made the message crystal clear. Not only has China joined the club of leading nations, but its leader is projecting an entirely new and forceful image.

Consider the image of power projected by the Chinese military during this year's celebration of the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and World War II in September. Scenes of rank upon rank of faultlessly drilled soldiers, sailors and airmen sent out a message that here was a country confident in its own image.

But unlike the images of old, which portrayed a vast, disciplined mass of people whose leaders were focused on domestic issues, the latest vision emanating from Beijing is one of inclusiveness, a desire to use China's economic might to benefit its neighbors and its allies.

That is embodied in Xi's unique vision of the Belt and Road Initiative, a modern version of the Silk Road.

Billions of dollars are to be poured into infrastructure on an overland route that takes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Russia and finally Western Europe. The sea route is also ambitious, and already in use - container ships will ply the seas both ways from Zhanjiang, in South China's Guangdong province, and taking in Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata, Colombo, Mobasa, the Suez Canal, Athens and, finally, Venice.

China has backed the setting up of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, the first international financial institution not dominated by the US or Europe, as well as the New Development Bank of BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

This is all evidence of Xi's policy of projecting a more nationalistic and assertive China on the world stage; all that and he is still managing to crack down on corruption at home, as well as taking a hard line on terrorism. The killing of a Chinese hostage by Islamic rebels in Syria drew immediate public condemnation of the so-called Islamic State from Xi, and China, which in its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council joined the unanimous vote condemning IS and al-Nusra, and calling for military action by individual states.

So that, then, is the current message being projected by Xi's numerous foreign trips. But there's another side, too. The world is being given a look, rare for a Chinese leader, into his more human side.

There was the well-publicized visit to a small Beijing restaurant in December 2013 when, without the usual press entourage, he and a solitary aide ordered a meal of steamed buns, paid for them himself, and ate with the regular clientele. Of course, China being China, much of the occasion was recorded on the ubiquitous mobile phones of fellow diners. But his domestic image of a president with a human touch was cemented.

Beer and fish and chips in an English country pub with Prime Minister David Cameron during his state visit in October probably did more to put a human face on the president than all the speeches and photocalls. And as several English commentators noted, in some awe: "He drank the whole pint of IPA, and finished the chips."

There's no greater praise from the English point of view.

The author is managing editor of China Daily Europe, based in London. Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com