Editor's note: As the year draws to a close, CGTN presents "Anchor of Stability in Shifting Times: China's Diplomacy in 2025," a special series of in-depth news stories exploring China's diplomatic priorities, from the four global initiatives, neighborhood diplomacy and major-country relations to South-South cooperation and green development. Each article assesses the global resonance of China's approach as we enter 2026, giving context and specificity to its vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

In 2025, as geopolitical tensions threatened peace and the world economy struggled to regain momentum, the international community was once again reminded of the importance of stability, responsibility and just global governance.

Against this backdrop, China has stepped forward to promote coordination among major countries, encourage constructive interaction and advance a framework of peaceful coexistence, overall stability and balanced development. It is a role grounded in what President Xi Jinping describes as a shared obligation in which "major countries should shoulder special responsibilities as the relations between major countries concern global strategic stability."

Anchoring China-Russia ties at a higher level

China and Russia, guided by the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, who exchanged mutual visits this year, have charted a new blueprint for bilateral ties.

High-level mechanisms such as the China-Russia strategic security consultations and the prime ministers' regular meeting function smoothly, while cooperation in regional and international affairs remains robust. The comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era has grown even more resilient.

"Since the beginning of this year, China and Russia have steadfastly navigated a turbulent external environment with great composure, aiming for higher-level and higher-quality development goals," President Xi underscored.

Practical cooperation is expanding rapidly. Under a mutual visa-free arrangement, Russian authorities project 3.5 million mutual visits in 2025, up 30 percent from 2024. During last month's sixth China-Russia Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Forum, Boris Titov, co-chairman of the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, announced that the two sides are getting ready to launch more than 80 joint projects worth some $200 billion.

Recalibrating the direction of China-U.S. ties

In 2025, the China-U.S. relationship has been defined by recalibration. President Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump held four phone calls and one in-person meeting, stabilizing expectations and setting the direction for the world's two largest economies.

Multiple rounds of China-U.S. economic and trade consultations have reached basic consensuses on arrangements to address respective trade concerns. On China-U.S. military relations, the two sides have maintained effective communication through military diplomatic channels and held two rounds of maritime safety talks.

"China and the United States should be partners and friends. That is what history has taught us and what reality needs," Xi told Trump during their meeting in South Korea in October.

"You and I are at the helm of China-U.S. relations. In the face of winds, waves and challenges, we should stay the right course, navigate through the complex landscape, and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations," Xi told Trump.

Economic and social exchanges between the two countries have improved. From January to October, more than 3,500 Chinese companies traveled to the U.S. for trade exhibitions, and at the eighth China International Import Expo, American firms recorded the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year.

On the cultural front, the 2025 "Gulingyuan" Sino-U.S. Youth Chorus Week involved nearly 30 choirs and over 1,000 youths from both countries.

A brighter next 50 years of China-EU relations

The 50th anniversary of China–EU diplomatic ties was marked in 2025.

The strategic value of the "partnership" positioning of the relationship has been clear, with both sides emphasizing cooperation, mutual respect and shared responsibility. High-level engagement has been active; the 25th China-EU Summit took place in Beijing, and several European leaders have visited China.

President Xi outlined three guiding principles for the next stage of China-EU relations: upholding mutual respect and consolidating the partnership's foundation; advancing openness and cooperation while managing differences and frictions; and practicing multilateralism to safeguard international rules and order.

Pragmatic cooperation has shown solid momentum. In September, the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, renewed bilateral currency swap agreements with the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the National Bank of Hungary, respectively, supporting trade and financial stability.

Connectivity has also expanded further, with the China–Europe Railway Express reaching 118,600 cumulative trips by October 2025, and scientific exchange advanced, as two European institutions were granted approval to borrow lunar samples from China's Chang'e-5 mission.

Meanwhile, the 18th China-EU Business and Technology Cooperation Fair yielded 166 preliminary cooperation intentions, highlighting broad enthusiasm for deeper economic and innovation ties.