BEIJING: In light of China’s recent mediation success in getting Saudi Arabia and Iran to sit together for a landmark dialogue last month and to resume their diplomatic ties on Friday, many policy observers have pointed to the extensive peacemaking efforts made by Chinese diplomats — particularly special envoys — who have traveled across the globe in recent years.
March, for example, witnessed packed schedules and travel by envoys representing the Chinese government or the Foreign Ministry and focusing on specific regions or issues, such as the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.
They made footprints in destinations including Central and West Asia, North Africa and the Pacific Islands, where hot spot issues or the dire need to galvanize local development are high on the regional or global agendas.
In one of the latest developments, Zhai Jun, the Chinese government’s special envoy on Middle East issues, met with a group of Beijing-based diplomats from Arab states and the League of Arab States on Friday in Beijing.
“China will continue to make relentless efforts to facilitate a proper resolution of the Palestinian question at an early date,” Zhai said. At the heart of the Chinese envoys’ discussions with foreign peers is Beijing’s overarching blueprint for peace — the Global Security Initiative, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping in April last year, officials and experts said. Beijing’s expanding lineup of special envoys and its efforts to send them worldwide are among China’s practices in carrying out the Global Security Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind, analysts added.
The initiative “offers insights for promoting political settlement of flashpoints such as the Korean Peninsula issue and for coping with global security challenges”, and it “speaks volumes about China’s sense of responsibility to world peace”, said Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese government’s special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs.
China welcomes other countries joining in the initiative and will work with European countries and the international community to build a more peaceful, more secure and better world for all, he said in a speech on Thursday during a visit to Brussels, the home of the European Union’s headquarters.
Observers said that through efficient, practical face-to-face discussions, negotiations and mediation by China with other countries, the China-led initiatives and proposals are not simply political gestures, but blueprints that are constantly being perfected, improved and rolled out, one after another.
–The Daily Mail-China
Daily news exchange item
