“For many years, China was hiding its strength and biding its time. But now China’s time has come as it becomes a powerful country,” said Harvey Dzodin, a non-resident research fellow of the Center for China and Globalization, on CGTN’s The Point.

Following Harvey’s thought, Geoff Raby, former Australian ambassador to China, said China will no longer follow its policy of keeping low-profile when it was building its strength for 30 years during the reform (and opening-up) period. As China now becomes a big power in the world that it’s natural China is more assertive and engaged internationally to protect its interests and also to reshape an established international order which has been established after the World War II.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China five years ago, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as its core has firmly promoted major-country diplomacy with distinctive Chinese features. 

When it comes to what the major-country diplomacy should look like or how China should behave, Harvey said, “it’s like walking on eggs. It’s a hard balance to keep.” 

Victor Gao, interpreter for the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said, “I hope going forward China can make its strategic intentions well-known and more transparent to the rest of the world. After all, China is a very new phenomenon.”

Geoff added, “I think one of the best examples of concrete major-power diplomacy is the creation of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This was a remarkable step by China because all of these AIIB like infrastructure building, China could have it by itself unilaterally, but with the creation of AIIB, what China has done is to impose by itself multilateral rules and disciplines, to limit and constrain China’s action, it’s part of a new world order, of a new world architecture as a major power starts to build block by block. This is the example that needs to be highlighted and understood properly."