Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his 2023 New Year address on Saturday that China has worked hard with the rest of the world to contribute to the cause of peace and development for all humanity.

"We cherish peace and development and value friends and partners as we have always done. We stand firm on the right side of history and on the side of human civilization and progress," Xi said.

During his virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 30, Xi said it is important that China and Russia remain true to the original aspiration of cooperation, maintain strategic coordination, continue to be each other's development opportunity and global partner, and strive to bring more benefits to the two peoples and greater stability to the world.

While mentioning the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Xi stressed that China has noted Russia's statement that it has never refused to solve the conflict through diplomatic negotiations and China commends that position. 

Analysis of the virtual meeting in foreign media reports noted that China will continue to develop relations with Russia, but suggested it will have to rein in its support for Putin in the face of Western pressure as the Russia-Ukraine conflict goes on. 

However, noting the close friendship and mutual trust between the leaders of China and Russia, Jia Min, a researcher at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, told Sputnik news agency that though external forces have put pressure and restrictions on the close cooperation between China and Russia, there is no need to worry about them throwing stones at each other. 

Jia added that as responsible major countries, China and Russia should look for more common ground, support and cooperate with each other in building a fair and reasonable international order.

The naming of a new Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, also drew the attention of international media, which not only observed Qin's distinctive diplomatic style, but also speculated that he would be tasked with improving relations between China and the United States as well as other developed countries to help the revival of the Chinese economy.

Qin, 56, is the third Chinese ambassador to the U.S. to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following Li Zhaoxing and Yang Jiechi. The 56-year-old began to serve as China's 11th ambassador to the U.S. in July last year, vowing to bring China-U.S. relations back on track.   

During his hundreds of days in the United States, Qin has met with multiple U.S. officials, traveled extensively and received many interviews to deepen mutual understanding and promote the common interests of China and the U.S..

Reflecting on Qin's performance as an ambassador, Wu Yong, a professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University, said that the new foreign minister will contribute to maintaining and developing relations between China and major countries in the future.

In his first comments as foreign minister, Qin said China's diplomacy remains committed to peace, development, cooperation and delivering mutual benefit, and will press for a new model of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation.

(A view of gigantic and beautiful flower sculptures, showing people worldwide unite together, on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, China. /CFP)