Rise to the Challenges, Serve the Nation and Embark on a New Journey for Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics

III

The year 2021 will be a year of historic importance in China's national rejuvenation. It will be the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and the inaugural year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan. China will embark on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country and realizing its Second Centenary Goal. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, we in the diplomatic service will build on our past achievements and continue to forge ahead. We will explore new opportunities and break new ground amid crises and changes, and make new contributions to realizing China's national rejuvenation and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

We will stick to the overall direction of our diplomatic work. Adhering to the CPC leadership and socialism with Chinese characteristics is a built-in, defining feature of China's diplomacy. We will unswervingly strengthen the Party's centralized, unified leadership in foreign-related work and wholeheartedly serve presidential diplomacy to demonstrate the unique appeal of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era. As we celebrate the 100th birthday of the CPC, we will better communicate to the world the CPC's track record of governance, the Chinese people's extraordinary journey toward the Chinese dream, and China's commitment to peaceful development. Through better communications, we hope the world will get a more accurate understanding of the CPC's original aspiration and mission and of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China will increase friendly interactions with the rest of the world to enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust between the Chinese and the peoples around the world.

We will do our best to serve our national development strategies. We will foster a keen awareness of the features of China's new development stage and promote the new development philosophy. We will better integrate the domestic and international markets and resources to create a favorable external environment for fostering a new development paradigm and launching the 14th Five-Year Plan. We will support both epidemic control on an ongoing basis and economic and social development. While locking in the gains in fighting COVID-19, we will open more "fast tracks" for travel and "green lanes" for shipments of cargo, establish joint pandemic response mechanisms with more countries, and advance global vaccine cooperation. We will host a new round of events to present Chinese provinces and economically important regions that have emerged stronger from the test of COVID-19, and help build bridges with the world for the opening and development of our country and its different localities. We will develop an all-round consular network to protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese citizens and institutions.

We will keep fostering a new type of international relations. We will deepen comprehensive strategic coordination with Russia to form a bulwark for peace, security and strategic stability in the world. We will work for an upgrade in our relations with Europe by enhancing mutual trust, increasing consensus and expanding practical cooperation. A US return to a more sensible China policy should be encouraged. We hope the US will work with China to review experience and lessons and, on that basis, reopen dialogue, resume cooperation and rebuild trust. It is time for the two countries to jointly build a strategic framework for the sound and steady growth of the bilateral relations and find a path for countries of different social systems to live in peace.

We will take solid steps to advance international and regional cooperation. We will work for the early entry into force of the RCEP agreement, push forward the China-Japan-ROK free trade process, and advance the building of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Economic Development Belt. We believe these efforts will help cultivate greater awareness of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future. We will step up the building of China-Africa, China-Arab and China-Latin America and Caribbean communities with a shared future to enhance China's solidarity and friendship with fellow developing countries. We will contribute our share to the poverty alleviation, debt reduction and disaster mitigation of other developing countries, and support them in building capacity for self-generated development. We will keep our commitment to make COVID-19 vaccines, once available, a global public good.

We will scale up openness and cooperation. China will stay committed to fostering a new system of open economy of higher standards to fully unlock the potential of its vast market and domestic demand. China will contribute to global recovery with its own development and share more development opportunities with the world. China will stay firmly opposed to protectionism of whatever forms, and work with other countries to keep the global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth as part of an open world economy. We will advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and accelerate the development of the health Silk Road, digital Silk Road and green Silk Road to benefit more countries and peoples.

We will take a proactive part in the reform of global governance. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's lawful seat at the UN and the 20th anniversary of its accession to the WTO. China will continue to uphold multilateralism, follow the principles of openness and inclusiveness, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, and move forward with the times. We will give full play to the central position and role of UN agencies in international affairs. As the host of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity next year, China will endeavor to make the meeting a success and join other parties in exploring new strategies for global biodiversity governance and building a shared future for all life on Earth. China will enhance cooperation within the frameworks of the G20, APEC, the SCO and BRICS to address global challenges such as climate change, cybersecurity and public health. We will call for joint efforts to draw up rules on global digital governance and develop a more equitable global governance system.

We will endeavor to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Since General Secretary Xi Jinping propose the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, the initiative has been constantly enriched both at the conceptual level and in diplomatic practices. From China's old friends to new cooperation partners, from China's neighborhood to the wider regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and from bilateral relations to multilateral issues, this important vision has been expanded in both scope and depth, and gained growing understanding and support. We will continue to call on all countries to rise above differences of ideology, social systems and development stages, uphold the values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom shared by all countries, and work together for an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

Having reached the centennial milestone, we will remain true to our original aspiration and step up to our responsibilities for the great journey ahead. We in the diplomatic service will rally more closely behind the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, keep firmly in mind the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, uphold the leadership core and keep in alignment, reaffirm confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping's core position in both the CPC Central Committee and the CPC as a whole and uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Central Committee. Bearing in mind our mission of striving for the well-being of the Chinese people and contributing to the progress of humankind, we will continue to shoulder our responsibilities for our country and for the world, open new ground in advancing major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and make new and bigger contributions to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.