Photo： Ministry of Foreign Affairs

China's diplomacy will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and strive to promote world peace, tranquility and common progress of mankind in the coming year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said while addressing a symposium on the international situation and China's foreign relations in 2024 in Beijing on Tuesday.

Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that China's diplomacy in 2024 had created a sound external environment for China's high-quality development and injected valuable stability into a volatile world. 

Wang Yi shared five highlights of China's diplomacy over the past year. He said first, China's head-of-state diplomacy had written a magnificent new chapter and led the trend of the times for peace, development and win-win cooperation. Second, new breakthroughs have been made in building a community with a shared future for humanity and promoting global solidarity. Third, Chinese modernization provides new opportunities for the world and promotes the development trend of modernization in other countries.

Fourth, it has set a new example in cooperation with other developing countries and built on the trend of unity in the Global South. Fifth, new progress has been made in deepening the comprehensive diplomatic agenda and strengthening the trend of building a new type of international relations.

The achievements of China's diplomacy are closely linked to the guiding and stabilizing role of the head-of-state diplomacy. In contrast to the instability seen in other countries, the direction provided by head-of-state diplomacy has allowed China to remain on a stable and predictable path. This stability and clear direction are crucial for the country's development and the preservation of its international standing, Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times. 

China's diplomatic achievements are both extensive and multifaceted in 2024, and whether in its relations with neighboring countries, addressing global issues, or managing regional hotspots, China has made significant contributions. Amid global instability, China has not only upheld world peace but also reinforced its position as a major global power, while safeguarding the rights and interests of its people, Zhu Yongbiao, head of the School of Politics and International Relations in Lanzhou University, who attended the Tuesday symposium, told the Global Times.

When addressing the symposium, Wang Yi also mentioned China-US relations, saying that over the past year, Chin has maintained overall stability of China-US relations under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, with focus on implementing the San Francisco vision to maintain overall stability in bilateral ties. 

Last month, President Xi Jinping met with President Biden and extended congratulations to President-elect Trump, providing strategic guidance for the development of China-US relations at key juctures, said Wang Yi, while also pointed out that China's policy toward the US has remained stable and consistent, reflecting the strategic steadiness and broad vision of a major power. We are willing to maintain dialogue with the US, manage differences, build trust, dispel doubts, and expand cooperation, jointly exploring the right way for the two great powers to get along with each other on this planet, benefiting both nations and the world, said Wang Yi.

In managing China-US relations, China has consistently advocated mutual respect, win-win cooperation and peaceful coexistence, while firmly responding to and criticizing some US hegemonic actions and attempts to contain China. This underscores China's unwavering diplomatic stance, Wang Wen said. 

China's four red lines, which President Xi listed when meeting with Biden in Lima, namely the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's right to development, send a clear message to the US and will remain the foundation for addressing uncertainty and overcoming the challenges in bilateral relations. This also reflects China's commitment to responsibility and consistence in its major power diplomacy, and its contribution to global stability, said Wang Wen. 

In his address on Tuesday, Wang Yi also noted that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the world anti-fascist war, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and the historical course of mankind will once again come to a crucial juncture.

Wang Yi said in face of turbulence and conflicts in the world, China will firmly be a force for peace. In face of risks of division and confrontation, China will firmly be a force for unity. In face of decoupling and severing of industrial and supply chains, China will firmly be a force for opening-up. In face of headwinds of unilateral bullying, China will firmly be a force for justice. In face of ideological differences, China will firmly be a force for inclusiveness.

Amid global turmoil and shifting geopolitics, China will remain a key stabilizer in the world next year. In the face of a complex international landscape, China will also uphold its responsibility as a major power, promote peace and unity, and work to resolve global conflicts. At the same time, China will continue to expand its high-level opening-up to inject confidence into global development, Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.