A Landmark Year for Chinese Diplomacy
Text by Wang Yi
April 22, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Asian-African Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. by Lan Hongguang/Xinhua
With an astute grasp of both international and domestic situations, China’s diplomacy continued to forge ahead with a pioneering spirit, leaving a wake of major achievements and advances in many ways, over the past year.
First, China’s international influence has been comprehensively enhanced thanks to a series of Chinese initiatives and plans facilitating extensive influence in politics, economics, security and other global realms. The country has been playing a constructive role in maintaining world peace and promoting global development.
In 2015, China successfully hosted commemorative activities marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, underscoring the country’s resolution to safeguard international justice and conscience.
China has continued to serve as a major engine for global economic growth, and provided new drivers of world financial stability and reform. Despite downward pressure from both home and abroad, the Chinese economy still grew by about 7 percent in 2015, contributing a third of global growth. China jumpstarted the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS New Development Bank, the first multilateral financial institutions established by developing countries. The RMB has been included into the International Monetary Fund’s SDR currency basket, upgrading the international status of developing countries’ currencies.
China has been actively involved in pursuing major goals on the global agenda and makes important cooperative contributions. When attending summits commemorating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations (UN), Chinese President Xi Jinping elaborated on China’s positions on major international issues and announced a number of major Chinese initiatives. These include the establishment of a China-UN peace and development fund and a fund to assist South-South cooperation. China joined the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System, built a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 people, and canceled debts owed by least developed countries.
China has acted as a responsible country and played an important role in enhancing global cooperation on climate change. In 2015, China issued joint statements on climate change successively with the EU, the United States, France, India and Brazil. The country announced the establishment of a US$3 billion South-South Climate Cooperation Fund. At the recently held Paris Conference on Climate Change, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with participants from other countries, made important and active contributions towards the realization of a comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and binding post-2020 agreement on climate change.
At the same time, China has also been actively involved in the resolution of international and regional conflicts, playing a constructive role in maintaining world peace and security. China and other parties facilitated the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, worked hard to build consensus on resuming the Six-Party Talks, and actively mediated regional conflicts in Africa as represented by the South Sudanese issue, conflicts in the Middle East as seen with the Syria issue, and conflicts in China’s neighboring countries such as the Afghan issue. China has dispatched over 2,700 peace-keepers to many crisis areas across the world to uphold local peace and stability. China sternly condemns and opposes terrorism in all forms and supports both international and regional counter-terrorism cooperation.
September 26, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) meets with Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at UN Headquarters in New York. by Liu Weibing/Xinhua
September 3, 2015: DF-5B international ballistic missiles during the Victory Day parade. For China, the DF-5B international ballistic missile represents a defensive shield for national sovereignty and dignity. by Wan Quan
Figures:
1. In 2015, China carried out active diplomatic activities to promote the country’s foreign investments. From January to November, China’s non-financial outward direct investment exceeded more than $104 billion, with year-on-year growth of 16 percent. Investment in the manufacturing industry grew at rapid speed, totaling nearly $12 billion.
2. China’s contracts for construction projects in other countries witnessed major breakthroughs in fields of transportation, power engineering, and communication engineering in 2015. Cumulatively, newly signed contracts totaled $92 billion.
3. By the end of 2015, China’s overseas peace-keeping force had grown to 3,100 people. Of all 16 present UN peace-keeping missions, China has participated in nine by supplying infantry, engineers, guards, transportation and medical aid, military observers and officers.
4. By the end of 2015, China had established comprehensive strategic partnerships with 67 countries and five international organizations.
Second, China has deepened its relations with many countries on major fronts.
North America: In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful visit to the United States. President Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed important consensus on building a new model of major-country relations between the two countries. Both agreed to actively fulfill the two countries’ international responsibilities and reached 50 important consensuses and agreements.
September 25, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan (left) and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama choose the name “Bei Bei” for a baby giant panda at the Giant Panda House of the National Zoo, Washington D.C. by Wang Ye/Xinhua
September 25, 2015: American President Obama holds a grand ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping for his state visit. During the visit, Xi stressed that China is willing to join hands with the United States to improve their relationship and steer it onto the right track. by Lan Hongguang/Xinhua
May 9, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan join other leaders and their spouses at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to lay red flowers as part of a commemorative event marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, Russia.
May 9, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping (second left) and his wife Peng Liyuan (first left) stand with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders in Moscow to attend a grand military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of Russia’s Great Patriotic War. Upon Putin’s invitation, Xi joined 20 other heads of states and international organizations to visit for the commemorative event.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Chinese and Russian presidents attended commemorations of the victory of the Second World War held in each other’s country. The ChinaRussia strategic partnership of coordination has maintained a high standard of performance. Steady progress has been made in cooperation on major projects in energy, aviation and space. Chinese President Xi Jinping paid successful visits to Kazakhstan and Belarus and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired the prime ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China has held top-level exchanges with almost every country in the region.
October 22, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping has a beer with British Prime Minister David Cameron at a local pub after their meeting at Cameron’s country retreat in Chequers, Britain.
October 29, 2015: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (front, second left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (front, left) visit an exhibition before attending the opening ceremony of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Highlevel Meeting on Disability & Global Conference on Assistive Devices and Technology in Beijing. by Li Tao/ Xinhua
Europe: In 2015, the China-UK relationship was highlighted by commendable moments. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “super” state visit to the UK proved a great success, and China-UK relations entered a “golden age.” Premier Li Keqiang paid successful visits to France and the EU headquarters, charting new courses for China’s cooperation with France and EU. China and Germany held their first high-level financial dialogue. The “16+1” cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries has registered rapid progress. An open, inclusive and win-win partnership across six major areas of cooperation has been affirmed, resulting in a new 1+6 cooperation pattern. In 2015, China held high-level exchanges with 21 European countries.
Asia Pacific: Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Asian-African Summit and a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. Premier Li Keqiang visited the Republic of Korea and relaunched the China-JapanROK leaders’ trilateral meeting which had been on hold for three years. China successfully hosted Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit, provided immediate relief assistance to Nepal after it was hit by a devastating earthquake, and held the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Free trade agreements with South Korea and Australia were signed, negotiations to upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement were completed, and preparations to upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement increased. Major progress has been made in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.
April 24, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan join other Asian and African leaders attending the 2015 Asian-African Summit in a symbolic stroll to commemorate the historic 1955 Bandung Conference in Bandung, Indonesia. by Lan Hongguang/Xinhua
March 21, 2015: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right), South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (center) and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida attend a joint press conference in Seoul for the 7th Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. CFP
November 15, 2015: About 60 kids from an orphanage in Acapulco, Mexico, are invited to board the Peace Ark, a 300-bed Chinese floating navy medical facility. by Jiang Shan/CFP
January 21, 2016: An actor from Jinzhou Municipal Puppet Theatre in Liaoning Province performs the opera stunt “face changing” in Cotonou, Benin. by Chen Jianli/Xinhua
Africa and Latin America: For the first time, the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of 50 African countries as well as the Chair of the African Union Commission attended the summit and made a comprehensive decision to boost China-Africa cooperation in all areas. The first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was held in China. Premier Li Keqiang visited four Latin American countries, where he sought cooperation in the development strategies of the two sides. In 2015, China’s diplomacy started with the China-CELAC cooperation forum and concluded with the China-Africa cooperation forum, embodying China’s dedication to advancing along with other developing countries through enhanced cooperation.
November 3, 2015: Personnel from China’s peace-keeping forces ask locals about the public security situation in a village, Greenville, Liberia. by Sun Ruibo/Xinhua
by Yin Gang/Xinhua Wang Yi, author of this article, has been serving as China’s foreign minister since 2013. Born in 1953, Wang became a diplomat in 1982. He previously served as the vice director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Japan, and vice foreign minister in succession.