Editor’s note: CGTN presents “China in 2024,” a special series that takes an in-depth look at the country’s progress in improving livelihoods, high-quality development, deepening reform and further opening up, sci-tech innovation, cultural development and ecological conservation, as well as its diplomatic achievements.
In a year marked by rising geopolitical tensions and escalating global instability, China’s pursuit of peaceful solutions through dialogue and consensus stood out in 2024.
From pushing for the adoption of the first UN Security Council ceasefire resolution in Gaza in March and the signing of the Beijing Declaration on strengthening Palestinian unity in July to launching the “Friends for Peace” group on the Ukraine crisis with other Global South countries, China worked to restore world peace and save lives throughout the year.
As a “stable, positive and progressive” force in the international community, China will always walk on the path of peaceful development, said Chinese President Xi Jinping after accepting credentials presented by 28 ambassadors to China on December 12, 2024.
Remarkable chapter in head-of-state diplomacy
Xi’s diplomatic schedule in 2024 was packed, featuring both high-profile engagements with world leaders and personal outreach to individuals across the globe.
Xi attended three major diplomatic events at home: the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in May, the conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in June, and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September.
The president also made four key overseas visits: to Europe in May, to Central Asia in July, to October’s BRICS Summit in Russia, and to Latin America in November. He also attended several multilateral summits over the course of the year.
In Xi’s interactions with foreign leaders, friendship and trust were the core topics of discussion, and mutually beneficial cooperation was a prevailing consensus, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a year-end symposium on China’s 2024 diplomacy in December.
A growing number of countries have joined China in pursuit of a community with a shared future for mankind, a vision put forward by Xi and established as the goal for Beijing’s practice of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. For example, China and Serbia are building a community with a shared future for the new era, a first in China-Europe relations, and China and African countries, with a combined population of 2.8 billion, are building an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era.
China’s three major global initiatives also saw significant and growing support in 2024: 82 countries joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, 119 countries and organizations backed the Global Security Initiative, and the 78th UN General Assembly adopted a China-proposed resolution to establish June 10 as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations.
Fostering unity within Global South
Xi has said on many occasions that China has always been a member of the Global South, and it will always belong to the developing world.
At the June gathering marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Xi put forward eight measures to support Global South cooperation, covering training, youth exchange, economic development, free trade, agricultural cooperation, digital economy, green development and ecological conservation.
Meanwhile, China established five cooperation frameworks with Arab states: in innovation, finance, energy, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges. It also deepened the synergy of development strategies with Latin American and Caribbean countries, and further upgraded cooperation with Pacific island countries.
In addressing the concerns of developing countries, China, alongside other Global South nations, promoted cooperation in artificial intelligence capacity building, science, technology and innovation, and climate change finance.
“No matter how the international landscape evolves, we in China will always keep the Global South in our heart, and maintain our roots in the Global South,” Xi said at the BRICS Plus leaders’ dialogue in October.
Promoting stability in major-country relations
China continued to prioritize dialogue and partnership over confrontation and alliances in 2024, and promoted stable and balanced development in major-country relations.
The China-Russia relationship has grown increasingly mature and stable. The three meetings between Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this year further deepened the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. China-Russia ties are seen as an example of friendly exchanges between major countries and neighbors.
China has worked with European countries, a key focus in its foreign policy agenda, to build healthier and more stable relationships. In May, Xi paid a historic visit to Europe, which ushered in another 60 years in China-France relations, enhanced the ironclad China-Serbia friendship and elevated China-Hungary ties to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era.
Xi also engaged in in-depth strategic communication with leaders of several European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy, on bilateral and multilateral occasions.
China has sought to maintain the overall stability of relations with the United States. In November, Xi held face-to-face talks with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima, and sent a congratulatory message to President-elect Donald Trump.
China and the U.S. conducted two rounds of strategic communication, and five meetings of their financial and economic working groups were held. The countries renewed a decades-old science and technology cooperation agreement for another five years, and co-signed each other’s resolutions on AI at the UN. In addition, nearly 15,000 young Americans visited China through the “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, a cultural exchange program announced by Xi in November 2023.
Building a harmonious home in Asia
Throughout 2024, China and its neighbors shared converging interests, deeper friendships and greater mutual trust.
China’s relationships with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been growing with strong momentum. Vietnam’s party and state leaders visited China, getting the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future off to a good start in 2024. Prabowo Subianto visited China in his first overseas trip after he was elected as Indonesia’s new president in March and chose China as the first country to visit after taking office in October. China and Malaysia celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, the China-Singapore all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership is vibrant and thriving, and China’s traditional bonds with Laos and Cambodia have only deepened.
China and the five Central Asian countries upgraded their comprehensive strategic partnerships. In July, Xi attended the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, and paid state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
China has also worked to improve trust with major countries in the region. During a meeting on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in October, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to step up strategic communication, and safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas. Xi also met Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November, with both sides agreeing to translate the consensus reached on the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima into action as soon as possible.
Reviewing China’s overall diplomatic efforts in 2024, Wang, the Chinese foreign minister, said China’s diplomacy of responsibility has provided much-needed stability in a turbulent world.