President Nodir H. Jumaev, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since China’s new leadership took office at the end of 2012, the world has been closely watching the trends andtrajectory in China’s domestic and foreign policy, especially the readjustment of its diplomatic strategy and policy. My talking today will focus on three parts, namely what kind of changes, if any, of China’s diplomacy of new government? What are the driving forces behind? How about the future direction in China’s new diplomacy in the years ahead?

Let me first talk about the Readjustment/or change of China’s new leadership’s diplomacy.

Please don’t misunderstand it.whenwe talk about the changes in the new government’s diplomatic strategy and policy, we are not talking about negating or overturning its predecessors’ strategic principles and policies. Otherwise, our policy will lose its predictability, resulting the outside world’s bafflement and misjudgment. The new leadership, first and foremost, emphasizes readjustment and development in continuity. It has inherited and upheld the basic ideas and guiding principles of the preceding governments since the reform and opening-up policy was introduced. For example, the new leadership sticks to the strategic idea of independence and self-reliance, maintaining its strategic self-identification as a developing country, sets the strategic goal of creating a peaceful environment for its modernization efforts, and explores the strategic approach of peaceful development. At the same time, the new government’s diplomatic strategy has taken on new features and registered new developments from strategic ideas to strategic priorities, and to diplomatic styles. Three key words can summarize the changes. 

The first one is proactivity. Over the past twenty-odd years, China’s diplomacy has emphasized the balance between “keeping a low profile” and “doing something”. But the former is likely to be interpreted as indecisive and passive posture for a long. A perceptible change has taken place in the new leadership. All together, for one year since taking office President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have made intensive visits to twenty-two countries, received sixty-five heads of state and governments visiting China, met and exchanged views with more than three hundred foreign dignitaries, and reached around eight hundred cooperation agreements with various countries. In particular, Mr Xi and Mr Li chose neighboring countries as their first leg of foreign visits and exchanged views with heads of states and governments from twenty-one neighboring countries, covering almost all of China’s neighboring countries. Proactivity is not only reflected in the sheer number of foreign visits, but also in the rich substance in these visits.China hasmore Proactively than before proposed Chinese roadmaps and action programs for maintaining international peace and stability, and played a constructive role in the political settlement of hot-spot issues such as Iran and Syria. China has dispatched its first formed units of security force to Mali for UN peacekeeping mission there, and sent a naval vessel under operational conditions to escort the shipping of Syrian chemical weapons. As Asia constitutes the most immediate and important theater for China’s security and prosperity, China has been playing an increasingly significant role in promoting the resumption of the Six-Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue and supporting the peaceful reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.  

The second key word is innovation. Being acutely aware that “change” is the defining feature of the current internal and external environment, the new leadership acknowledges that China’s diplomacy also needs innovation to keep up with the times. Diplomatic innovation in the new leadership is reflected in the three dimensions, ideas, mechanism and practices. Number one isto explore the innovation of diplomatic ideas. Rather than passively responding/reacting to other countries’ agendas, China has, more than ever, been actively exploring and advocating new ideas, conceptual frameworks, and detailed strategic programs to foster its relations with the outside world. For instance, the new leadership has put forward the concept of a New Model of Major-Power Relations characterized by “no conflict and confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation” to fashion Sino-US relations. In the wake of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe, the Chinese government has innovatively put forward the strategic framework of “two forces, two markets, and two civilizations” to elevate the Sino-Europe relationship. Secondly, the new government has been handling China’s relations with developing countries with a righteous/balance approach to uphold principles and pursue interests, underscoring the importance of moral principle, justice, fairness and credibility. Regarding relations with neighboring countries, the new leadership focuses on enriching the traditional “good neighborly” policy with the new concept of “amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness” and initiates the establishment of “a community of common destiny” with neighbors.  Accordingly, the new leadership has proposed a number of major initiatives such as building a “Silk Road Economic Belt” and a “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” to fasten China’s ties with neighboring Asian countries. In regard to security issues, the new Chinese government has been promoting the new security concept—common security, comprehensive security, mutual security, cooperative security and security through development—to seek regional peace and stability.

Innovation also finds its expression in diplomatic mechanisms. The most noticeable and significant example is the establishment of the National Security Committee, which will better align China’s foreign policy strategy with its national security interests, enhance government’s capacity of implementing diplomatic strategy, better allocate national resources and coordinate divergent interests.

Innovation is also manifested in China’s diplomatic practice. For example, the first informal summit meeting between Chinese president and US president took place at Sunnylands, California, where tieless Xi Jinping and Barack Obama held two meetings, one working dinner, and walked leisurely around, discussing Sino-US cooperation and differences in an honest way for more than eight hours. At the end of past March of this year, American First Lady Michelle Obama visited China without Mr Obama’s company at the invitation of Madam PengLiyuan, Xi Jinping’s wife, making the “First Lady Diplomacy” an innovative episode in the history of Sino-US interactions. 

The third key word is “bottom-line thinking”. The core of this thinking is the full awareness of risk assessment, early warning and management in our decision making, i.e. thinking more of potential difficulties and problems, and preparing for the worst while striving for the best. Faced with issues such as the North Korean nuclear crisis, the Iranian nuclear issue, and the task of serving China’s core interests like territorial integrity, the new government has employed the bottom-line thinking to show its strong political resolve in defending national sovereignty, security, and development interests on the one hand, and effectively manage and contain hot-spot issues that might escalate and deteriorate out of control on the other hand, demonstrating a bigcountry’s  strategic will and capability. 

Now let me move to the second part of speech on the driving forces behind of such changes.

The motivation behind the readjustment of China’s diplomatic strategy and policy includes, first of all, China’s rising comprehensive national strength that requires the new leadership to review the country’s international status and role. China’s GDP volume has grown from 123 million US dollars to 9 trillion US dollars in the past decade, ranking the world’s No.2.While in terms of structure of comprehensive national strength, China is still behind of many developed countries, particularly of its per capita GDP, and the imbalanced regional development is still the most salient feature in its economic landscape, nevertheless, its influence in world economic, political and security arena, in the science and technology and in the domain of environment protection has grown significantly. Moreover, China’s ties, especially bonds of interest with the outside world, have never been so close. Today’s China has become the biggest trading partner for 128 countries, one of the major export markets with fastest growth rate, the most favored destination of Foreign Direct investment, and one of the biggest importers of energy and resource products. China’s trade with its Asian neighbors had increased from 170 billion US dollars in 2002 to more than 1 trillion US dollars nowadays. The world community is expecting a rising China to play a more active role and shoulder more responsibilities in international affairs. At the same time, China’s expanding and increasingly intertwined interests with countries within the region and across the world also requires China to more proactively shape and maintain an international environment of enduring peace and prosperity, so as to better serve its enlarging overseas interests.

Therefore, Mr. Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister in 2013, has strategically identified Chinanew diplomacy as “a bigcountry’s diplomacy with Chinese characteristics”. Diplomatic identification determines the nature, tasks, and responsibilities of diplomatic work. Diplomacy with Chinese characteristics emphasizes that diplomatic activities must start from basic national conditions, regard maintaining and shaping an external environment favorable for national development as the most important diplomatic priority, and use common development as the fundamental approach. This identification has demonstrated a major power’s courage and responsibilities at a new historic period. The new government articulates that in international relationship, China will uphold principles, promote justice, and practice equality; more resolutely safeguard shared rights and interests of developing countries, more actively and effectively provide public goods for the democratization of international relations and the reform of global governance.  

Secondly, diplomatic innovation comes from China’s deep understanding of an increasingly globalized and interdependent world. The new government has recognized that the global balance of power has been moving towards greater equilibrium and the international system, on the one hand, is moving forward on an irreversible historical course where interests of different nations are increasingly converging with shared crisis and prosperity, and on the other hand, is undergoing fundamental changes giving emerging markets and developing countries greater voice and representation in world affairs. It has also recognized that since the 2008 international financial crisis, major economies have been accelerating their reforms and transformations, striving to get ahead in a new round of competition for superior comprehensive national strength. Today’s world is a world that has risen above the zero-sum game world in the past, a world in which no single country can address challenges and manage crises on their own, a world where domestic issues are interwoven with international agendas, a world of power diffusion, and a world with diverse development paths in which traditional thinking and methods are inadequate to address problems cropping up almost daily.

China has benefited from reform and innovation over the past 30 years; likewise, the evolving international landscape requires China to be innovative in its diplomatic work. Take the regional security domain, for instance, the new Chinese government will continue to promote its new security concept featuring “equality, respect, mutual benefit, and coordination”, by fresh up some new thinking and norms. The new government advocates common security, that is, incorporating all relevant countries into the joint efforts of building a regional security architecture to prevent one country’s security spillover effects from threatening overall regional stability. The new leadership promotes mutual security, that is, a nation’s security should not be achieved at the expense of another’s security. By the comprehensive security,We stress that the Economic security and non-traditional security issues have become acute concerns for international community. To address these concerns requires integrated policies including but not limited to military security and armament measures. By security through development, CH underscore theimportance of Economic prosperity safeguarding security. All security issues, fundamentally speaking, should be addressed in a step-by-step manner through the common economic development and social progress of all nations. By security through cooperation, we stress that All relevant parties should seek and expand the convergence of interests, enhance mutual trust, and achieve win-win and multi-win cooperation.

Thirdly, emphasis on “bottom line thinking” highlights the new government’s strategic awareness of the need to forestall and manage crises in a proactive way. Over the last year, bottom-line thinking in China’s diplomacy has been demonstrated in three aspects. Number one, favorable conditions are only one side of China’s diplomatic strategy. Always keeping in mind of the unpredictability and risk prevention will make us better prepare for the worst in such a complex and interconnect world. Number two, a red line has been drawn and articulated to the parties concerned to avoid their misinterpretations and miscalculations. China has made clear its bottom line in the disputes over the Diaoyu islands and the Huangyan Island, preventing further escalation and curbing provocative actions by certain countries. Number three is to forestall and manage risks and crises. China not only faces the world’s most complicated neighboring relations on its periphery, but also encounters increasingly urgent needs to protect its overseas rights and interests in other regions of the world. In this connection, the bottom-line thinking is an effective guiding principle for crisis management.Only by taking an unshakable position on core national interests and making full strategic preparations in crisis prevention can we keep our strategy stable and predictable when confronting predictable and unpredictable risks and challenges, and remain unaffected by temporary disturbances. At the same time, bottom-line thinking helps clarify China’s fundamental interests and concerns to the outside world, and reduce the risk of undermining China’s interests resulted from misunderstanding and miscalculation. 

My third and last part of speech is on the future direction of China’s diplomatic strategy.

Today’s China is a rising power and its diplomatic strategy has entered a phase of further development and enrichment.

First and foremost, For China, it is of primary importance to design and implement a full-spectrum strategy in traditional diplomatic domains concerning core national interests in high politics. At the same time, China ought to pay more attention to the strategic planning and designing on non-traditional diplomatic agendas, which largely comprises today’s pressing global challenges. The current international norms, regulations, and laws are inadequate to address these challenges, so as a major power with global influence, China bears the responsibility of proposing solutions and setting agendas. Therefore, China needs to make early strategic decisions on climate change, energy and resource security, disease control and disaster relief, and population aging, so as to play its part in international decision making and to take the strategic and constructive lead in the region and the world at large.

As a major power with global influence, China must go beyond the narrow thinking limited to short-term interests, explore its comprehensive and long-term strategic interests, and reach a new equilibrium. At the current stage, for China it is possible to engage more actively with other to provide consultation and advice to countries enjoying friendly relations with China on national governance while adhering to the principle of “non-intervention”; It is advisable for China to more actively contribute to UN peacekeeping missions and enhance bilateral military and security cooperation while upholding the principle of “no overseas military base”; It is also desirable to strengthen consultation and planning with major countries, BRICS members, and other important neighboring strategic partners while sticking to the principle of “not being the dominant player”; and it is preferable to enhance the security consultation and military cooperation within the framework of strategic partnership of cooperation while carrying on the principle of “non-alignment”.
In conclusion, with the changing international environment, China not only needs to clarify its national strategic objective of peaceful development, but also needs to transcend the traditional Western Pan-Pacifism, to construct a theoretical system of peace for the international community, and to propose the strategic approach of the community of common destiny for the region and for mankind, pushing forward the tide of the times featuring peace, development, and win-win cooperation.

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