The latest Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs
The new year has come, yet the world is still in a period of turbulence rife with conflicts and crises, and the human society is facing unprecedented challenges. How to meet those challenges? What kind of world we need to build? How to build it? Those are pressing questions awaiting answers.
Against that background, China held the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in late December of 2023. It bore significance for China, as it presented a systematic review of the historic achievements and valuable experience of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, gave a profound exposition on the international environment and historical mission of China’s external work on the new journey, and made comprehensive plans for China’s external work for the present and coming periods.
The conference also bore significance for the world. China believes that the historical trend of world peace, development, international win-win cooperation is unstoppable. As a rising power, China is playing a crucial role in leading peaceful development, promoting world stability and prosperity, and pushing the world towards a peaceful, secure, prosperous and progressive future.
In the past decade, China has registered historic achievements on the diplomatic front. Among others, we have established and developed Xi Jinping’s Thought on Diplomacy, which reflects the Chinese Communists’ worldview, perception of order, and values, accords with the common aspiration of people in all countries, and points the direction for the progress of world civilizations. We have advocated building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and forged a wide-ranging, high-quality global network of partnerships. We have advanced high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and established the world’s most broad-based and largest platform for international cooperation. China is playing an increasingly important and constructive role in international affairs.
Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the core tenet of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Diplomacy. Its goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity. The pathway is promoting global governance that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit. The guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity. The basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations. The strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. And the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Since its launch, building a community with a shared future for mankind has developed from a Chinese initiative to an international consensus.
China calls for an equal and orderly multipolar world. It’s a world in which all countries, regardless of size, are treated as equals, hegemonism and power politics are rejected, and democracy is truly promoted in international relations. To keep the progress toward greater multipolarity generally stable and constructive, the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter must be observed by all, the universally recognized, basic norms governing international relations must be upheld by all, and true multilateralism must be practiced.
China advocates a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. It’s the globalization that meets the common needs of all countries, especially the developing countries, and properly addresses the development imbalances between and within countries resulting from the global allocation of resources. It is important to resolutely oppose the attempt to roll back globalization and abuse the concept of security, oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, firmly promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, overcome the structural problems hindering the healthy development of the world economy, and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.
China conscientiously practices the principle of “sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith” in developing its relations with Africa. Under the umbrella of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China has successively proposed “Ten Major Cooperation Plans”, “Eight Major Actions” and “Nine Projects”, with a view to promoting Africa’s economic and social development. Last year, China initiated three plans aimed at supporting Africa’s talent development, agricultural modernization and industrialization. Over the past years, China has built or upgraded more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, nearly 1,000 bridges, and nearly 100 ports in Africa, built a large number of hospitals and schools, and created millions of jobs for Africa. From January to June 2023, China-Africa trade volume reached US$140.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. FOCAC will hold its fourth edition of summit this year, providing new opportunities for China and Africa to further bolster their cooperation. China vigorously promotes practical cooperation with Rwanda, my host country, in various fields. Bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, infrastructure, agriculture, health, smart education and cross-border e-commerce, helps boost Rwanda’s economic and social development and people’s well-being, and contribute to its Vision 2050.
China will always stand on the right side of history and human progress. In advancing its own modernization, China will make new and greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind and building a better world.
Wang Xuekun Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda
