China’s Diplomacy in the Xi Era
By ZHU FENG
IT has been just over two years since Xi Jinping became China’s head of state. However, in both domestic political circles and foreign diplomacy, the new generation of Chinese leaders is striving to pursue changes and innovations, making China’s contribution to world peace and prosperity through its own development. From building a new model of China-U.S. relationship to enhancing diplomatic ties with neighboring countries, and from the Chinese Dream of rejuvenating the Chinese nation to the strategy of building China into a maritime power, President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy features enterprising spirit, peace, inclusiveness, cooperation and all-win solutions. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference of the 2014 session of the National People’s Congress, the most distinct feature of China’s diplomacy last year was its enterprising and innovative spirit, and China will keep that stance in 2014.
The Chinese Dream
On November 29, 2012, President Xi Jinping put forward the conception of the Chinese Dream for the first time when he visited the National Museum of China. Later, during the first session of the 12th National People’s Congress, he elaborated on the concept, and further explained its connotations when he visited Russia and Africa and at international conferences. In the speech Xi made in Tanzania, he stressed that the Chinese people are currently committed to realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation while African people are striving for the African dream of self-development through unity and growth. People in China and Africa should strengthen unity and cooperation and support each other to make their respective dreams come true.
Today, not only China but the whole world is paying attention to the Chinese Dream and its impact. So what is the Chinese Dream? President Xi pointed out that to realize the Chinese Dream we must take the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, advocate the Chinese spirit, of which patriotism is the core, and the spirit of the time, which centers on reform and innovation, and rally Chinese power, which emanates from the solidarity of all ethnic groups of the nation.
President Xi cited “adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics” as the first precondition for realizing the Chinese Dream, meaning that during his era the driving force of Chinese diplomacy is still patriotism and nationalism. However, the Chinese style of patriotism and nationalism is never about false modesty or feeling self-important. In fact the Chinese Dream proposed by Xi Jinping aims to make the relation between China and the rest of the world more harmonious, solid and mutually beneficial. He emphasized that the Chinese Dream is also the world’s dream of global development, stability and peace – just as he pointed out that the realization of the Chinese Dream benefits not only the Chinese people, but also people around the world.
Community of Common Destiny
The conference on diplomacy with neighboring countries, convened in October 2013, was a significant meeting on China’s foreign policy in the new era. In his speech President Xi stressed that building good relations with neighboring countries is necessary to realizing the “two centenary goals”: to finish building a moderately properous society in all respects by 2021 when the Communist Party of China celebrates its centenary, and to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by 2049 when the People’s Republic of China marks its centenary. It is also essential to serving the cause of national rejuvenation. Therefore, China must consolidate its friendly relations with them to secure a benign environment for domestic development, which will in turn benefit them and bring about common development. The main task of the conference was to sum up past experience, study the current situation, reach consensus and so formulate the strategy, policy and general layout of diplomacy with neighboring countries in the coming five to 10 years. It also worked out guidelines and action plans for major issues in China’s relationship with its neighbors.
Xi’s proposal of consolidating China’s relations with neighboring countries and building with them a community of common destiny maintains and develops China’s traditional thoughts of good-neighborliness and friendliness. As early as the 1950s, in order to settle territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, the Chinese government put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and made it a cardinal principle of foreign relations. In 1997 the 15th National Congress of the CPC put forward building good neighborly and friendly relations, shelving disputes temporarily and seeking common development while reserving differences as the basic principle of diplomacy with neighboring countries.
In 2002, the 16th National Congress of the CPC enriched this principle by adding economic cooperation, calling for building good partnerships and promoting regional cooperation. However, after 2010, there were frequent conflicts between China and certain neighboring countries. Especially since the U.S.’s rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific, China’s diplomacy has faced an increasingly grim situation, manifest in the mass breakout of territorial disputes, intensified rivalry among big countries in China’s neighboring regions and the stalled progress of East Asia economic cooperation and integration. Against this background, the Chinese government put forward the strategy of “closeness, sincerity, sharing in prosperity and inclusiveness” in handling territorial disputes with neighboring countries in a bid to enhance security cooperation and seek common prosperity and progress.
