Xi Accelerates Bilateral Diplomacy on Belt and Road Stage... Flaunts Power to the US

Friendly Nation Leaders Arrive in China One After Another
Emphasizing Partnership and Cooperation While Checking the West

Chinese President Xi Jinping is accelerating diplomacy with friendly country leaders on the stage of the Belt and Road Forum. President Xi emphasized messages of partnership and cooperation to the leaders arriving in Beijing, showcasing strength to the West, including the United States.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 17th, President Xi held successive summit meetings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with heads of friendly countries from various regions, including Kazakhstan in Central Asia, Ethiopia in Africa, Hungary in Eastern Europe, Chile in South America, and Papua New Guinea in Oceania.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

He delivered consistent messages of friendship and cooperation to the leaders of each country. In a meeting with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, Xi said, "Ten years ago, I first proposed the 'Silk Road Economic Belt' initiative in Kazakhstan," emphasizing, "No matter how the international situation changes, the friendship ideology between our two countries must be passed down through generations." President Tokayev responded, "Kazakhstan has firmly supported and actively participated in the Belt and Road Initiative since the day President Xi proposed it," adding, "China is a friend and partner that Kazakhstan will trust forever," before signing cooperation documents covering various areas such as connectivity and economic development.

In a meeting with Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, President Xi elevated bilateral relations to the highest level of "all-weather strategic partnership." Until now, China's "all-weather strategic partner" status was held only by Pakistan, which shares a common goal of countering India. Xi stated, "Ethiopia has been a leader in Africa over the past decade in terms of the scope and achievements of Belt and Road cooperation," and added, "With the establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership, we should become partners promoting the unity of the Global South (mainly emerging and developing countries located in the Southern Hemisphere) and safeguarding international fairness and justice."

Meeting with Viktor Orb?n, Prime Minister of Hungary, Xi said, "Hungary was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China and establish diplomatic relations," praising Hungary for maintaining a long-standing friendly China policy and actively supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, noting that Prime Minister Orb?n has attended the Belt and Road Forum three times in a row. Xi further mentioned the timely completion and opening of the China-invested Hungary-Serbia railway, stating plans to expand cooperation in operating the China-Europe logistics cooperation zone, e-commerce, information technology (IT), and new energy industries, as well as increasing imports of Hungarian agricultural products.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) is visiting Beijing, China, on the 17th to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (Belt and Road: the land and maritime Silk Road connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe). President Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 18th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Xi signed a Belt and Road cooperation plan with Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, which was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with China in 1970, stating, "By deepening traditional cooperation such as trade and infrastructure investment, Chile will become a bridgehead for the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America."

He also met with James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, saying, "In the new situation, China hopes to strengthen political mutual trust and expand the scope of cooperation with Papua New Guinea." Papua New Guinea is one of the South Pacific island countries where China is competing for influence with the United States. While emphasizing the importance of cooperation and China's role to leaders of developing countries, President Xi also mentioned global multilateralism and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, showing a stance to counter the United States.

Meanwhile, President Xi is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the afternoon of the 18th, when the Belt and Road Forum opening ceremony takes place. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the afternoon of the 17th, when asked about the agenda of the China-Russia summit, "They plan to have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and common interests," adding, "We will provide timely updates on the situation of the meeting between the two leaders, so please stay tuned."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.