Timeline of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang’s Foreign Visits in 2016
November 17: President Xi Jinping arrives in Quito, capital of Ecuador, for a state visit to the South American country. by Ju Peng/XinhuaIn 2016, China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang paid dozens of visits to foreign countries and attended many international conferences, during which they expressed China’s views and promoted the Belt and Road Initiative that was designed to achieve win-win cooperation with other countries. Major progress has been made during bilateral talks and international meetings.
November 18: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa jointly inaugurate the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric plant built by a Chinese company. by Ma Zhancheng/Xinhua
November 21: Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Lima. by Pang Xinglei/Xinhua
November 2: Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Bishkek for an official visit to Kyrgyzstan and the 15th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). by Zhuang Duo/Xinhua
November 3: Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the 15th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). by Liu Zhen/China News Service
November 4: Premier Li Keqiang at a welcoming ceremony before talks with Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis. by Liu Zhen/China News Service
January 19: President Xi Jinping holds talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. by Ju Peng/XinhuaOn January 19, Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran. This was his first trip of 2016 and first visit to the Middle East since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Touring four cities in five days, Xi elaborated the core of China’s Middle East policies and signed 52 documents on cooperation.
On March 31, Xi Jinping met with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. A joint statement on nuclear security cooperation and a joint presidential statement on climate change were released.
From March 31 to April 1, President Xi attended the 4th Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington D.C., where he elaborated China’s policies, introduced China’s progress on nuclear security and announced China’s upgraded nuclear security in its own facilities and progress on international cooperation.
Xi Jinping visited the Czech Republic from March 28 to 30, the first visit by a Chinese head of state in the 67 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties. It was also Xi’s first visit to Central and Eastern Europe.
From November 2 to 9, Li Keqiang visited Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Russia. During the trip, he attended several international meetings including the 15th SCO prime ministers' meeting.
On June 24, Xi Jinping attended the 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This gathering examined the major outcomes of the SCO since its establishment 15 years ago. Participants exchanged views on the development of the SCO and major international and regional issues, reaching a broad consensus.
President Xi visited Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan on a trip that started on June 17. China established a comprehensive strategic partnership with those three countries, marking more progress on the Belt and Road Initiative.
From July 13 to 14, Premier Li Keqiang visited Mongolia. The two countries signed 15 documents on cooperation in many sectors.
On November 3, during a meeting with Li Keqiang, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev expressed his country's gratitude to China, saying that as a genuine friend, China offered Kyrgyzstan help without political strings, solely to promote stability and development. A joint communiqué between the two countries was released, and several cooperation documents on many fields were signed.
October 15: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Zuma have a group photo with the captains of football teams participating in the 2016 BRICS U-17 Football Cup in Goa, India. by Yao Dawei/XinhuaOn November 5, Li Keqiang attended the 5th Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Riga, Latvia. Li announced four principles that serve as pillars of the “16+1” plan as well as five propositions on pragmatic cooperation. After the summit, participants signed many cooperation documents.
From November 16 to 25, Xi Jinping visited Ecuador, Peru, and Chile and attended the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. After talks between Xi and his Peruvian counterpart, those two countries signed an inter-governmental joint action plan for cooperation in 2016-2021. China and Chile agreed to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
At the APEC summit on November 20, Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech, highlighting open economics, inter-connectivity and global growth.
On November 6, Li Keqiang co-chaired the 21st Regular Meeting between the Chinese Premier and the Russian Prime Minister with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia in St. Petersburg. Premier Li and Prime Minister Medvedev heard a work report from the four bilateral cooperation mechanisms including the China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation, the Committee on Regular Meetings between the Chinese Premier and the Russian Prime Minister, the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee and the China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee, exchanging in-depth views on future cooperation.
From October 15 to 17, Xi Jinping attended the BRICS Summit held in Goa, India. Xi called for the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to advance infrastructure construction and strive for common development.
From September 25 to 27, Li Keqiang visited Cuba, the first official visit to the country by a Chinese premier. He held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro and also met with Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
From October 13 to 14, Xi Jinping visited Cambodia and Bangladesh. China and Cambodia agreed to align the Belt and Road Initiative with Cambodia’s Rectangular Strategy. China and Bangladesh vowed to promote connectivity through the Belt and Road Initiative and the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor.
From September 6 to 9, Li Keqiang visited Laos and attended the 19th ASEAN-China Summit. The year 2016 marked the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Laos. A total of 20 documents on cooperation in many sectors were signed and a joint communiqué was issued.
From September 23 to 24, Li Keqiang visited Canada, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and attended the 6th China-Canada Business Forum.
From September 19 to 22, Li Keqiang attended several high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly and delivered a speech at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Li Keqiang attended the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit from July 15 to 16 and delivered a speech. The summit concluded with the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and the Chair’s Statement, marking the culmination of 20 years of work on Eurasian cooperation with a vow of even deeper pragmatic cooperation.
On the morning of September 7, Li Keqiang attended the 19th ASEAN-China Summit, during which he expounded China’s stance on the South China Sea issue. Li also attended the 19th ASEAN Plus China, Japan and ROK Summit. He underlined the importance of pragmatic cooperation under this framework and of safeguarding regional peace and stability.
July 13: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Ulaanbaatar for an official visit to Mongolia and to attend the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit. by Pang Xinglei/Xinhua