New chapter for "Xiplomacy"

The opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference is held in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

This year's Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is the first since China's commitment to building a community with a shared future for humanity was written into the country's Constitution last month.

The vision, together with China's proposal of building "a new type of international relations," represents the country's efforts to search for the answer to a simple question: What kind of future does humanity wish to create?

In his keynote speech delivered Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the BFA annual conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping further explained the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, which is characterized by treating each other with respect and as equals, promoting dialogue and sharing responsibility, engaging in cooperation for win-win results, upholding inclusiveness and seeking harmony without uniformity, as well as treating nature with respect and treasuring the planet.

He called for people around the world to work together toward a community with a shared future for humanity and make Asia and the world peaceful, tranquil, prosperous, open and beautiful.

This is Xi's first home-court diplomacy since he was unanimously re-elected Chinese president in March.

Apart from the BFA annual conference, three other key global events will be hosted by China this year and are all expected to be attended by Xi.

In June, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members will meet at the Qingdao summit, the first since the SCO expanded to include India and Pakistan as full members in 2017.

In September, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing will propose feasible ways to encourage more African countries to become involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Then in November, the first China International Import Expo will take place in Shanghai, where China would reach out to show its market potential.

These events will demonstrate that China welcomes all countries to participate in and share the new opportunities that come along with its development.

They will also exhibit the "major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics," which embodies championing peace, being non-threatening, standing up for the small and weak, and sharing development opportunities.

Xi is the chief architect of the major-country diplomacy concept and has been personally involved in planning and conducting head-of-state diplomacy.

Over the past five years, Xi has visited 57 countries and received more than 110 foreign heads of state.

Through his travels and diplomatic meetings, Xi has helped deepen the world's understanding of a rising China, reshaped the Asian country's new role on the world stage and offered new ways forward in tackling the most pressing global problems.

At a time when the world is undergoing a new round of major development, great change and profound readjustment, Xi said that humanity has a major choice to make between openness and isolation, and between progress and retrogression.

At the BFA annual conference, the president unveiled new measures for expanding reform and opening-up, including significantly broadening market access, creating a more attractive investment environment, strengthening protection of intellectual property rights, and taking the initiative to expand imports.

The initiatives sent a strong message that China's door of opening-up will not be closed and will only open even wider, showing its resolve and sincerity to share opportunities with the rest of the world and promote common development.

Xi's speech has received wide recognition in the international community. The speech added certainty and hope to the world today, and the world needs leadership like China, said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.