BEIJING: In recent weeks, Chinese President Xi Jinping has hosted a batch of visiting foreign leaders.
With friendly handshakes, expanded consensus and fruitful results, Beijing’s intensive diplomatic drive in this spring has sent to the world community an unmistakable and uplifting message of dialogue, peace and cooperation, which is vitally important for a world beset by soaring uncertainties and risks.
From late March to early April, leaders from Spain, Malaysia, Singapore, France and the European Union (EU) travelled to Beijing to firm up their partnership with China.
Malaysia and Singapore are China’s neighboring countries and important members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Of the Southeast Asian countries, Singapore has been most involved in China’s reform and opening-up and its interests are most closely integrated with China.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was among the first heads of foreign governments to visit China after the conclusion of China’s annual “two sessions” in March.
During Lee’s China trip which took him to Guangzhou, Boao and Beijing, the two sides agreed to elevate bilateral ties to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership.China and Malaysia enjoy a long-standing friendship.
For years, the two sides have worked closely to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and made joint efforts to build a China-Malaysia community with a shared future.
Beyond Asia, China also attaches great importance to its relations with Europe, as they are two major forces, big markets, and great civilizations in the world.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were welcomed by Xi in Beijing, soon after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s visit in late March. –Agencies
