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Commentary: Chinese President’s Arab, African trip opens new chapter for common prosperity
Guo Jiping
New journey creates new hopes.
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Thursday for state visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa, as well as attendance of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He will also pay a friendly visit to Mauritius during a stopover on his way back to Beijing.
As China’s major diplomatic move toward developing countries, this is Xi's first time to visit foreign countries after his re-election as Chinese president in March.
The visits, coming against the backdrop of profound changes in international context, will enhance China’s solidarity and cooperation with developing countries in Asia and Africa and pool more consensus for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held this September.
The upcoming trip is of great significance as it will also add greater appeal to China-Africa friendship and bring a climax to China-Africa cooperation.
China held the BRICS presidency last year. The success of the Xiamen BRICS summit held last September ushered BRICS cooperation into the second golden decade.
Now, China is supporting the BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg with practical actions and extending the achievements yielded from the Xiamen meeting, which is of great significance.
The developing countries are our natural friends in international affairs, and we have to adhere to the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and strengthen solidarity and cooperation with them, President Xi said at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in June.
“No matter how developed it may become and how much the international landscape may change, China will remain a reliable friend and sincere partner to the developing countries,” Xi declared in his speech at the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia in 2015. Such sincerity serves as a foundation for its strong inspiration to the world.
The international community has come to realize that the correct viewpoint of righteousness and benefit upheld by China has shaken off the outdated mentality of the law of the jungle and hegemonism and abandoned the old logics of bullying, violence, and suppressing the poor.
Transcending the obsolete ideas of the Western international relations that put interests first and advocate “a country has no eternal friends, only interests”, China has forged a new cooperation mode featuring mutual respect, win-win cooperation and common development towards emerging economies and developing countries.
China has provided a new possibility and opened a new development path of win-win cooperation and joint efforts for shared benefits, which is unprecedented and a great invention that changes the world, said Martin Jacques, senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University, saying that’s the secret of China’s national governance.
From the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, from the summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries to the forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the China-proposed regional multilateral cooperation framework which is primarily toward developing countries has extended its influence to the whole world and offered an important platform on which developing countries can exchange experiences and plan cooperation.
In addition, the Chinese approaches to propel win-win cooperation among developing countries, including the promotion of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), have evidenced the country’s commitment to the world that it welcomes nations to board its fast train of development.
Thanks to such platforms built by China, other countries, guided by the right ideas, can share experiences with each other and take concrete actions. By mutual-inspiration and joint exploration, they set a clear direction and solidify their faith.
Amid this complex and changeable world, emerging economies and developing countries are in a key timing of grasping their own destiny and securing steady development.
The world economy is accelerating the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones, putting all stakeholders in an increasingly fierce game over interests and rule-making. Besides, the rise of trade protectionism, isolationism and populism is posing a severe challenge to global peace and development.
At this crossroad of history and a key phase for development, a grasp of the trend and far-sighted ideas are needed than ever.
To help emerging and developing countries achieve greater progress, President Xi suggested that emerging markets and developing countries need to work more closely to build an open world economy, implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, seize the historic opportunities of world economic restructuring and build extensive development partnerships.
As the Beijing summit of FOCAC is approaching, China will work with African countries to dock the theme of the forum with the construction of the Belt and Road, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and development strategies of African countries, in a bid to bring China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new high.
The year 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up. China, which is becoming stronger, will forever be with emerging economies and developing countries.
(Guo Jiping is a well-known pen name used for People’s Daily editorials meant to outline China’s stance and viewpoints on major international issues.)
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Thursday for state visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa, as well as attendance of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He will also pay a friendly visit to Mauritius during a stopover on his way back to Beijing.
As China’s major diplomatic move toward developing countries, this is Xi's first time to visit foreign countries after his re-election as Chinese president in March.
The visits, coming against the backdrop of profound changes in international context, will enhance China’s solidarity and cooperation with developing countries in Asia and Africa and pool more consensus for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held this September.
The upcoming trip is of great significance as it will also add greater appeal to China-Africa friendship and bring a climax to China-Africa cooperation.
China held the BRICS presidency last year. The success of the Xiamen BRICS summit held last September ushered BRICS cooperation into the second golden decade.
Now, China is supporting the BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg with practical actions and extending the achievements yielded from the Xiamen meeting, which is of great significance.
The developing countries are our natural friends in international affairs, and we have to adhere to the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and strengthen solidarity and cooperation with them, President Xi said at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in June.
“No matter how developed it may become and how much the international landscape may change, China will remain a reliable friend and sincere partner to the developing countries,” Xi declared in his speech at the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia in 2015. Such sincerity serves as a foundation for its strong inspiration to the world.
The international community has come to realize that the correct viewpoint of righteousness and benefit upheld by China has shaken off the outdated mentality of the law of the jungle and hegemonism and abandoned the old logics of bullying, violence, and suppressing the poor.
Transcending the obsolete ideas of the Western international relations that put interests first and advocate “a country has no eternal friends, only interests”, China has forged a new cooperation mode featuring mutual respect, win-win cooperation and common development towards emerging economies and developing countries.
China has provided a new possibility and opened a new development path of win-win cooperation and joint efforts for shared benefits, which is unprecedented and a great invention that changes the world, said Martin Jacques, senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University, saying that’s the secret of China’s national governance.
From the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, from the summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries to the forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the China-proposed regional multilateral cooperation framework which is primarily toward developing countries has extended its influence to the whole world and offered an important platform on which developing countries can exchange experiences and plan cooperation.
In addition, the Chinese approaches to propel win-win cooperation among developing countries, including the promotion of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), have evidenced the country’s commitment to the world that it welcomes nations to board its fast train of development.
Thanks to such platforms built by China, other countries, guided by the right ideas, can share experiences with each other and take concrete actions. By mutual-inspiration and joint exploration, they set a clear direction and solidify their faith.
Amid this complex and changeable world, emerging economies and developing countries are in a key timing of grasping their own destiny and securing steady development.
The world economy is accelerating the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones, putting all stakeholders in an increasingly fierce game over interests and rule-making. Besides, the rise of trade protectionism, isolationism and populism is posing a severe challenge to global peace and development.
At this crossroad of history and a key phase for development, a grasp of the trend and far-sighted ideas are needed than ever.
To help emerging and developing countries achieve greater progress, President Xi suggested that emerging markets and developing countries need to work more closely to build an open world economy, implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, seize the historic opportunities of world economic restructuring and build extensive development partnerships.
As the Beijing summit of FOCAC is approaching, China will work with African countries to dock the theme of the forum with the construction of the Belt and Road, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and development strategies of African countries, in a bid to bring China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new high.
The year 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up. China, which is becoming stronger, will forever be with emerging economies and developing countries.
(Guo Jiping is a well-known pen name used for People’s Daily editorials meant to outline China’s stance and viewpoints on major international issues.)
