Editor's note: Xin Ge is an associate professor at the School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi summarized the major achievements of China's diplomacy in 2022 and vowed to write a new chapter in 2023, in a speech at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations, co-hosted by the China Institute of International Studies and the China Fund of International Studies on December 25, 2022 in Beijing.

Noting that the outgoing 2022 is a critical year full of challenges for the whole world, "the trends of transformation and turbulence are both evolving continuously and the tendencies toward unity and division are both surging and contending with each other," commented Wang, explaining that while a few developed countries were engaged in geopolitical conflicts and bloc confrontation, resulting in a worldwide inflation and energy crunch, developing countries have stood together in solidarity, strengthening mutual cooperation as they responded to the unprecedented changes with greater confidence.

For a major country like China, it has to both lead and cooperate in adapting to the changes and addressing the adversities, and break new ground. The major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics truly embraced a global vision, which is embodied in four major aspects: Head-of-state diplomacy, relations with other major countries, solidarity with other developing countries and the role in addressing global challenges.

As Wang said, our head-of-state diplomacy in 2022 has been immensely successful and can be highlighted as one home-ground event, two major initiatives, and three important visits. The home-ground event is the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Despite stringent pandemic control measures, the opening ceremony brought together 31 heads of state, government and international organizations in the celebration of the games. The international community witnessed and experienced a China that is more confident, striving, open and inclusive.

The two major initiatives refer to the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI). The GDI was first proposed by China at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2021, aims to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth. This year, President Xi Jinping unveiled 32 major measures to implement GDI, which has won support of more than 100 countries and a number of international organizations. At the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference of this April, President Xi proposed GSI to offer a Chinese solution for global security challenges to achieve durable peace and security in the world. Over half years' time, more than 70 countries have expressed endorsement and support of this initiative. 

The three major visits are made by President Xi from September to December, including the Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, the G20 Summit in Bali and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok, and the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh. In the period before and after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President Xi held bilateral meetings with leaders of more than 40 countries.

In relations with other major countries, China has continued to reject bloc confrontation and zero-sum competition and maintained strategic stability, Wang emphasized. In the past year, the China-U.S. relations still faced serious difficulties, as the United States has continued to regard China as its primary competitor and implemented blatant blockade, suppression and provocation against China. President Xi has had two phone calls and one in-person meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, in which President Xi drew China's bottom line and red lines, and stressed the imperative need to bring the bilateral relations back on the track of healthy and stable development under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. President Biden also reaffirmed his "five-noes" statement, indicating U.S. support of the one-China principle, and that the U.S. does not seek to use the Taiwan question as a tool to contain China. What has happened proves time and again that no conflict, no confrontation, peaceful coexistence, and cooperation in boosting global economy, tackling climate change and other emerging hot-spot issues are in the common interests of both countries.

Furthermore, China has continued to promote solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries based on sincerity, real results, amity and good faith. For example, BRICS has become a most influential platform for South-South cooperation. As the host of this year's BRICS Summit, China convened the first BRICS plus foreign ministers' meeting, attended by over 70 countries and international organizations, injecting strong impetus into global economic recovery and development. Moreover, China-Africa cooperation has been elevated across the board, with the proposal of an Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa. China-Arab relations have taken historic strides forward as President Xi announced eight initiatives in his recent visit for cooperation between the Chinese and Arab sides. China's relations with Latin America and Pacific Island countries also made ground-breaking progress. In 2022, China also signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with another five countries, making the Belt and Road family a big gathering of 150 countries and 32 international organizations.

Lastly, in coping with global challenges, China has demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility and mission as a major country. No matter it is geographical conflicts, global food and energy crises or climate change, China has always reached out to take on responsibility as a major country and come up with unique proposals. Despite growing risks and uncertainties in the world economy and surging undercurrents of protectionism in the past year, China has opened its arms even wider to embrace the world and never stopped its cooperative and collaborative mechanisms for the good of the humanity.

Looking to the future, as China has blazed a new path of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics with a global vision, we are assured that China will stay committed to building an open, inclusive and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal development and common prosperity.

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