FM sets out foreign policy priorities

As senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi elaborated on China's diplomatic priorities and major events to be held in the coming year, analysts said China's stability and its policy consistency are "of the greatest certainty for the world".

Speaking at an annual think tank seminar in Beijing on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Wang said that "unstable and uncertain factors will rise significantly" in the international situation next year, while China's diplomatic mission will continue to "hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and a win-win approach".

There are a number of highlights on China's diplomatic calendar for next year, including hosting the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as China took over the SCO presidency in July.

2025 will mark two major 80th anniversaries — the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Wang said China "will solemnly commemorate" the 80th anniversary of the victory, carry forward a correct historical outlook, uphold genuine multilateralism, and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core.

Aside from ensuring a successful "Year of China" for the SCO, China will also host the 9th Asian Winter Games, which will enable foreign friends to experience the colorful country through the charm of snow and ice, he noted.

Speaking on major events to be held outside the country, Wang said that China will support efforts in hosting the second China-Central Asia Summit in Kazakhstan, the BRICS Summit in Brazil and the G20 Summit in South Africa.

To boost the unity and self-reliance of the Global South countries, China will advance the implementation of cooperation and actions involving Africa, Arab countries, Latin America and the Caribbean region, according to Wang.

Behind Beijing's diplomatic agenda items next year is the fact that "China is one of the countries that best projects certainty and stability "at a time when political chaos and armed conflicts are emerging across the globe, said Wang Wen, dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

"That is the role China's major country diplomacy should play — a major stabilizer," he said.

As part of growing international support for China-led global initiatives, 82 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, and 119 countries and international organizations have endorsed the Global Security Initiative.

As of this month, 155 countries have joined the big family of Belt and Road cooperation, according to Wang's speech.

On hotspot issues, Beijing will "continue playing a constructive role" in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, the Palestine-Israel conflict, as well as in the Korean Peninsula and Myanmar, Foreign Minister Wang said.

Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Shenzhen campus, said Wang's speech shows that mitigating conflicts is still the top priority for hotspot issues, and development is key to this end.

"The chaos in many countries is closely connected with development, and failures in development and poverty lead to violence," he said.

"China is not a destroyer of the world order and it seeks to reform the world order. What Beijing subscribes to is multilateralism featuring inclusiveness and opening, not targeting a third party," he added.

Speaking of relations with major countries and economies, Foreign Minister Wang said Beijing hopes the new United States administration will "make the right choice, move toward the same goal with China, rule out disturbances and overcome obstacles, and strive for the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations".

China will deepen its comprehensive strategic collaboration and all-around practical cooperation with Russia, and push its relations with the European Union forward steadily along the direction of seeking autonomy, mutual achievement and benefit to the world, he said.

"We will lend strong support to global strategic stability with China's stability and respond to all uncertainties in the world with China's certainty," he said.