Xi's four-nation tour to open new chapter for diplomacy
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E-mail Xinhua, March 19, 2013
Chinese President Xi Jinping will kick off a four-nation tour Friday, the first by the top leader since last year's national congress of the Communist Party of China and the just-concluded "two sessions."
During the nine-day tour, Xi will pay state visits to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo. He is also expected to attend the fifth leaders' summit of BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- in the South African city of Durban.
The upcoming tour has drawn worldwide attention as it will open a new chapter for Chinese diplomacy, which advocates peaceful coexistence and promotes win-win cooperation with others nations.
All-round Diplomacy
Qu Xing, president of the China Institute of International Studies, a think-tank affiliated with the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the tour, which spans Asia, Europe and Africa, demonstrated the country's comprehensive diplomatic strategy.
"The visit involves multiple factors and various fields, such as a world power and a neighboring country, developing nations and multilateral (cooperation)," he said. "It fully embodies China's all-round foreign policy of peace."
In addition, the visit will inherit the past and usher in the future for Chinese diplomacy.
China's development cannot be separated from the world, while global prosperity and stability is also strongly linked to China.
Thanks to the reform and opening-up policy carried out over the past three decades, China has entered a new stage in its economic and social development. In a bid to realize its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, the country needs to create a more favorable external environment.
Facing the in-depth development of world multi-polarization, economic globalization as well as scientific and technological progress, both Russia and African nations, as well as BRICS members and other countries, are seeking economic revitalization and a new path for development against the backdrop of the continued global economic downturn.
Moreover, China and Russia will coordinate and jointly deal with international and regional hotspot issues, with expected results in trade and economic cooperation and various people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
Liu Guijin, a former Chinese special representative on African affairs, described Xi's visit to the three African nations as "a trip of friendship and inheritance" that was expected to broaden cooperation and map out the future.
He said, in order to boost trade and economic cooperation between China and Africa, China should pay greater attention to Africa's peace and security, exchange experience in governance, increase investment in Africa's manufacturing sector, and stimulate employment and industrial upgrades on the continent by extending industrial chains.
As for the BRICS summit in Durban, the world is looking to the five leading emerging economies to forge a concrete mechanism for their cooperation.
People are also looking forward to tangible results from a scheduled meeting between leaders of BRICS countries and African nations.
Meanwhile, Xi's visit will have a far-reaching influence on the whole world as it will push forward China's relations with Russian and Africa and boost the development of the BRICS mechanism.
China needs to secure sound interaction and mutually beneficial results with other countries across the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Russia-China relations the model of a new relationship between two countries, highlighted by close high-level exchanges in their friendly ties.
The Chinese president's upcoming state visit to Russia was "a major event" in bilateral ties and Moscow expected substantial achievements, he said.
Higher-level, Broader Cooperation to Send Message to World
Xi's visit will look for higher-level cooperation, with major projects in the field of economic and trade cooperation.
With China and Russia reaching important consensus last month in energy cooperation, such as expanding their oil trade, significant breakthroughs are expected in such strategic cooperation areas as aviation, nuclear energy and natural gas. Xi's tour will further advance bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The visit should produce new highlights and expand the cooperation realm.
Booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa is one of the most dynamic highlights in global economic growth.
Since the China-Africa Cooperation Forum was founded in 2000, the content of cooperation between China and Africa is increasingly expanding. Xi's visit to the three African countries is expected to accelerate China's pragmatic cooperation with Africa and push a broader implementation of the reached agreements between China and African nations.
Liu said, in the economic realm, China would reinforce its investment in Africa's infrastructure construction, pay more attention to peace and security in the region, and support its integration process.
In the field of governance, China and Africa would exchange views on those pressing issues of common concern, such as the development of rural areas, infrastructure facilities and the economy and society, Liu said.
Xi recently has said Africa's development creates opportunities for China as China's development offers opportunities for the African continent, which inspires wide expectations for his African tour.
The Chinese leader's visit will add new vigor to cooperation mechanisms between emerging economies. BRICS countries, as a new force which has contributed to more than 50 percent of global economic growth, are making the world listen to their common voice.8 The long-waited BRICS banking and monetary cooperation mechanism proposed at last year's BRCIS meeting in Delhi, India, is ready to progress; the establishment of a BRICS business council and think-tank is on the agenda; and the trade and customs facilitation measures between BRICS countries are coming into force.
Efforts made by China and other BRICS countries in developing the bloc's structure would inject vigor, strengthen its members' confidence and facilitate the mechanism to bring in more member countries, said Yao Shumei, director of the International Economic and Financial Research Division of the Foreign Economic Institute of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
The breakthroughs in the cooperation mechanism between BRICS countries bore great significance in boosting the sustainable development of the global economy, building a multiple world financial system and pushing both South-South and South-North cooperation, she said.
Xi's visit will spread friendship and bring souls closer. Interaction with the foreign public has an important place on Xi's agenda. Booming cultural and people-to-people exchanges will reinforce the friendship between China and the peoples of other countries.
China and Russia have successfully held such activities as the "China-Russia National Year" and the "China-Russia Year of Language," and are preparing to hold a Tourism Year proposed by leaders of the two countries.
Xi's visit to Russia is expected to provide a chance for the start of a new round of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
In Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, people are expecting Xi's visit to inspire a genial and fresh wind of "China Style" in the country.
On the beautiful and rich land of Africa stands the monument of traditional friendship between China and Africa, as well as various China-Africa cooperation projects. People expect Xi's visit to Africa to link up the past and the future of China-Africa friendship.
