BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China’s diplomacy in 2024 had created a sound external environment for China’s high-quality development and injected valuable stability into a volatile world.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing a symposium on the international situation and China’s foreign relations in 2024.
HEAD-OF-STATE DIPLOMACY WRITING NEW CHAPTER
Over the past year, China’s head-of-state diplomacy has written a magnificent new chapter and led the trend of the times for peace, development and win-win cooperation, Wang said.
Noting that this year President Xi Jinping attended the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), carried out four important overseas trips and attended a series of multilateral summits, Wang said President Xi has had in-depth strategic communication with leaders of other countries and advocated greater solidarity and cooperation among the international community.
President Xi focuses on peace and development, sticks to multilateralism, fairness, justice, openness and cooperation, and encourages the international community to jointly respond to various global challenges, Wang said, adding that it is widely believed that this will have a positive and far-reaching impact on the progress and development of human civilization.
“President Xi has also personally carried out friendly work with people around the world through meetings, letters and other forms, laying a solid foundation of public support for the sound development of state-to-state relations,” he added.
DEEPENING COMPREHENSIVE DIPLOMATIC AGENDA
Wang said China’s diplomacy in 2024 has made new progress in deepening the comprehensive diplomatic agenda and strengthening the trend of building a new type of international relations.
On China-Russia relations, he said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Russia relations have set an example of friendly exchanges between major countries and neighbors. President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin met three times this year, pushing for continuous deepening of bilateral comprehensive strategic coordination.
On the relations with Europe, Wang said a healthier and more stable China-Europe relationship serves the fundamental interests of both sides and meets the expectations of the world, calling on the two sides to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, properly handle differences, seek win-win solutions, and jointly uphold free trade and multilateralism.
On the relations with neighboring countries, Wang said that the interests of China and its neighbors have become more closely integrated, and friendship and mutual trust have been deepened. Regional cooperation with China’s participation and promotion has gained momentum, and mutual trust between China and major countries in the region has been strengthened.
On China-U.S. relations, he said over the past year, guided by head-of-state diplomacy, China has been working towards overall stability in bilateral relations, focusing on implementing the “San Francisco Vision”.
Wang went on to point out that in recent interactions with relevant U.S. leaders, President Xi has provided important strategic guidance at an important juncture for the development of bilateral ties, summarized seven points of experience and inspirations from the recent years of exchanges and clearly identified the four red lines that brook no challenge, namely the Taiwan question, China’s path and system, democracy and human rights, and China’s development right.
“China’s policy toward the United States has maintained stability and continuity, which reflects the strategic resolve and the broad mind of a big country,” Wang added.
PROMOTING WORLD DEVELOPMENT
Noting that China has successfully blazed a path of modernization suited to its national conditions, Wang said China also stands ready to work with the world to promote the modernization of all countries with peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity.
He said that China has actively promoted the cause of global development and made deep and solid progress on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, with 155 countries having joined the big family of Belt and Road cooperation.
China’s pursuit of high-quality development through high-level opening-up has created broad opportunities for the modernization of other countries, Wang said, adding that China has further expanded institutional opening up, repeatedly shortened the negative list for foreign investment, fully liberalized access to the manufacturing industry, and actively aligned with international high-standard trade rules.
Noting that China has always been an important member of the Global South and is committed to promoting the unity and revitalization of the Global South, Wang said that President Xi proposed to carry out open and inclusive cooperation of the Global South and announced eight measures in support of Global South cooperation.
“China follows the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith to help other developing countries realize their dream of rejuvenation,” he said, adding that the Beijing Summit of FOCAC this year adopted the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Action Plan to strengthen cooperation in the next three years and 10 partnership actions for China and Africa to advance modernization.
BEING A FORCE FOR PEACE, UNITY
Noting that the year of 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Wang said China will remain a force for peace, unity, openness, justice and inclusiveness.
He said it is hoped that the new U.S. administration will make the right choice, work with China to remove disturbances and overcome obstacles, and strive for the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
“We will deepen China-Russia comprehensive strategic coordination and all-round practical cooperation, and push China-Europe relations forward steadily in the direction of independence, mutual achievement and benefit of the world,” he added.
He said China will support the holding of the second China-Central Asia Summit, carry out the eight major measures for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, unswervingly open wider to the outside world at a high level, accelerate the development of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, uphold the global free trade system, and maintain the stability and unimpeded flow of the production and supply chains.
“We will solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War,” Wang said, adding that China will support Brazil in hosting the BRICS Summit and the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference, and support South Africa in hosting the G20 Summit.
