Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT

 Editor's Note: 

"China will work with all countries to promote friendship and cooperation, enhance mutual learning among different cultures, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We must jointly create a better future for the world." Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2025 New Year message has sparked enthusiastic responses. As the great changes unseen in a century further evolve, China will continue to inject momentum and bring confidence to a world in turmoil and transformation. The Global Times launches a series of articles themed "China's commitments in the new era" to help our audiences gain a deep understanding of the significance of China's commitment to contemporary responsibilities.

On the eve of the New Year, President Xi Jinping, in his 2025 New Year message, depicted a promising blueprint of friendship and cooperation for the people of China and the world: "As changes unseen in a century accelerate across the world, it is important to rise above estrangement and conflict with a broad vision, and care for the future of humanity with great passion. China will work with all countries to promote friendship and cooperation, enhance mutual learning among different cultures, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We must jointly create a better future for the world." Looking back, China has consistently interpreted the spirit of "promoting global solidarity" through concrete actions, demonstrating broad-minded inclusiveness with mutual respect and showcasing an unwavering pursuit of win-win cooperation through pragmatic measures.

Throughout 2024, China's economy demonstrated remarkable resilience and openness, injecting powerful momentum into global economic recovery and regional integration. In the first three quarters of 2024, China's GDP reached 95 trillion yuan ($12.98 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 4.8 percent, with the annual GDP expected to surpass 130 trillion yuan. A prosperous China also benefits the world. In the first 11 months of 2024, China's total outbound direct investment across various industries reached 1.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent. Of this, non-financial outbound direct investment in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 214.66 billion yuan, representing a 6.2 percent increase. 

At the same time, China is steadily advancing along the path of deepening regional economic and trade cooperation. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade negotiations were successfully concluded, while key progress was made in the China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement negotiations. China has also upgraded or signed free trade agreements with Singapore, Maldives and Serbia through a series of economic and trade collaborations. 

Through a series of economic and trade cooperation, China has established closer ties with multiple countries, making positive contributions to global hunger reduction, poverty alleviation and prosperous development. These efforts have been witnessed and appreciated by people around the world.

In the past year, China has firmly adhered to the path of peaceful development, actively advocating for multilateralism and international cooperation, and promoting the building of a new type of international relations. During the BRICS summit, China engaged in in-depth discussions with other BRICS countries on hot topics such as global economic governance and sustainable development, jointly issuing a series of statements and action plans. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, China and other member states focused on key areas such as regional security and economic cooperation, reaching a range of important consensus. The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing, bringing widespread and in-depth agreements between China and African countries in areas including trade, infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare.

China has also strengthened political mutual trust and strategic cooperation with various countries through mechanisms such as high-level reciprocal visits and strategic dialogues. In 2024, China elevated its relations with Uzbekistan to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era. It has also signed several landmark cooperation agreements with Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American countries, and reached a series of mutually beneficial cooperation consensus with Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran on issues related to regional security and energy cooperation.

Furthermore, in the past year, China has actively advocated for cultural diversity, promoting mutual understanding and respect for global cultures and ideas while facilitating international exchanges. The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has been continuously incorporated into the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for eight years, demonstrating its increasingly significant global identity. Additionally, China and Africa put the mutual learning among civilizations at the forefront of the 10 partnership action plans for jointly advancing modernization. China has also successfully promoted the establishment of the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations at the UNGA.

Meanwhile, China has jointly organized numerous cultural exchange activities with multiple countries, deepening the emotional connections between their peoples, including the China-ASEAN Year of People-to-People Exchanges, the China-Russia Year of Culture and the Silk Road Cultural Festival. Additionally, a Chinese-Saudi Arabian joint archaeological team has excavated millennium-old cultural relics together, while Chinese and Egyptian archaeologists have jointly restored history in the Karnak Temple Complex of Luxor in Egypt. These collaborative efforts showcase the charm of diverse cultures to the present generation and promote mutual learning and exchange among civilizations.

In today's world, trade protectionism is on the rise, geopolitical tensions continue to loom, and extreme weather events triggered by global climate change, along with emerging public health crises, are occurring one after another. In the face of these challenges, setting aside differences and maintaining communication are urgent tasks for countries to manage risks and prevent conflicts from escalating. Only through friendly cooperation and joint efforts can countries tackle global challenges and create a more harmonious, stable and prosperous future.

As China continues to uphold an open and inclusive foreign policy that emphasizes win-win cooperation, seizing the trends of the times, courageously shouldering international responsibilities, and actively advocating for and practicing true multilateralism, it will engage with the world in a more open manner, promoting cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation. Consequently, China will undoubtedly have more and more partners, and the international order will steadily move toward a more just and reasonable direction, contributing greater strength to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and to the maintenance of world peace and security.


Lan Qingxin is a professor at the BRICS Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). Yang Penghui is a PhD student at the School of International Economics and Trade at the UIBE. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn