Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 20th. Title: President Xi Jinping’s Bali Summit of the Group of Twenty Leaders, China on the Road
The world is witnessing a new history.
This is the first time for President Xi Jinping to attend a multilateral summit after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The venue is in Bali, Indonesia, thousands of miles away from Beijing.
An article in the influential “Jakarta Post” of the host country stated that President Xi Jinping’s visit has become the focus of the 17th summit of the G20 leaders. Economic leaders communicate face to face.
The ancient oriental country with a long history, a journey of mountains and rivers, has started her new journey towards national rejuvenation. China’s world view and the world‘s view of China combine to write new stories.
From November 14th to 17th, 2022, the world-renowned China-U.S. Presidents’ Meeting, China’s proposals and China’s proposals at the summit venue, seven consecutive bilateral meetings in one afternoon… The world accounts for 2/3 of the world‘s population and nearly 90% of its GDP Leaders of major economies are in the global spotlight. They walked into the meeting hall where they met with Chinese leaders and told stories about China.
After the third phase of the summit, President Xi Jinping returned to the hotel where he stayed. His old friend, UN Secretary-General Guterres, followed. The meeting, which lasted nearly an hour, was also a window to understand China and think about the world.
“We met in February this year, and it hasn’t been a long time, but in a short period of time, many things have happened in this world. And some things are major events and some major changes.”
When judging the world, it is time to see the end of the situation. President Xi Jinping dialectically pointed out “two perspectives”: “We must see that the world‘s peace deficit, development deficit, security deficit, and governance deficit are all increasing, and we must also see that the historical trend of peaceful development and win-win cooperation is always unstoppable. “.
At this moment, where does the world go, and where does China go.
The journey of the avenue is steady and far-reaching. China shoulders the responsibility of a major country: “We must put the future and destiny of mankind as the most important thing, and work together to overcome difficulties. In particular, major countries should set an example, play a leading role, and inject more confidence and strength into the world.”
The world is deeply aware of the surging vitality and power of an ancient and modern China, and the confidence and strength she has injected into the world.
After Arrival: A Dialogue Between Two Great Powers
President Xi Jinping once described that the G20 is like a bridge that brings people together from all directions.
These days, at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport, special planes from all directions are lined up neatly; on the sea-breeze streets, a convoy with national flags gallops past.
The Mulia Hotel, where President Xi Jinping stayed, became a focus.
Known as “probably the highest attention in the world“, the China-US Presidents’ meeting kicked off as promised.
The sunset outside the window slowly fades from the sea level, and the vast ocean connects the two big countries on the earth.
At 17:36, the two heads of state walked into the camera almost at the same time. From the left and right sides, towards each other. Seeing that there was still some distance between him and President Xi Jinping, President Biden smiled and ran a few steps away, the reporters on the scene were amazed.
“Hello!” “Nice to meet you!” The moment in history is frozen here.
The world is looking forward to this scene. At a difficult time for the exchanges between the two sides, all parties are concerned about whether this meeting can be an opportunity for turning around and the global pulse it will affect.
On the way to the meeting hall, the two heads of state talked softly from time to time. The shutter sounded at the scene.
Once seated, President Biden made opening remarks. He has a deep memory of a past event more than ten years ago: “When I was the vice president and you were the vice president, we used to get along for a long time. We have had very good conversations over the years.”
The atmosphere in the meeting hall was friendly, and the topics gradually deepened. President Biden took the initiative to talk about “management and control of differences”: “As the leaders of the two countries, we have a common responsibility to show that the United States and China can manage differences and prevent competition from becoming conflicts. Collaborate on it.”
President Xi Jinping said succinctly: “The last time we met was at the Davos Forum in 2017, more than five years ago. Since you took office, we have maintained communication through video meetings and communication calls. Today we have met face to face. .”
Face to face is not easy. The relationship between the two major countries has been cloudy and rainy in recent years. Coupled with the impact of the epidemic, the heads of state of the two countries have not met face-to-face for more than three years.
Extend the lens of time. It has been more than 50 years since the contact and the establishment of diplomatic relations, and we have overcome obstacles and hardships all the way. President Xi Jinping said: “We can say that there are gains and losses, that is, there are experiences and lessons. History is the best textbook, and we use history as a mirror and face the future.”
President Biden listened attentively, bowing his head to record from time to time.
President Xi Jinping said earnestly: “As the leaders of China and the United States, we can play a guiding role. We should find the right direction for the development of bilateral relations and promote the improvement of Sino-US relations. Politicians must think and What is clear is the development direction of the country, but at the same time, it is also necessary to think about and clarify the way to get along with other countries and the world.”
“Those who get the big can take the small.” President Xi Jinping once used this to describe Sino-US relations. “China and the United States are two big countries, and it is impossible without some major principled consensus. With principles, there will be direction, and with direction, can we properly handle differences and expand cooperation.”
In a few words, the direction is already clear, that is, to find the correct way to get along, “no yaw, no stall, let alone collision”. This idea has been positively responded by President Biden. During the meeting, the two heads of state jointly discussed and established the guiding principles of Sino-US relations, that is, the strategic framework.
A topic that cannot be avoided is the Taiwan issue. President Xi Jinping gave the position in a serious tone: “The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, the foundation of the political foundation of Sino-US relations, and the first insurmountable red line in Sino-US relations.”
President Biden stated his position and attitude on this: “The US government pursues the one-China policy and does not seek to use the Taiwan issue as a tool to contain China. It hopes to see peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Prior to this, he repeatedly stated to President Xi Jinping that “four nos and one unintentional”. Careful observation of this meeting, the signal is more positive. Some media have summarized the U.S. position as “five nos” and “four no intentions”:
“The United States respects China’s system, does not seek to change China’s system, does not seek a ‘new cold war’, does not seek to oppose China by strengthening allies, does not support ‘Taiwan independence’, and does not support ‘two Chinas’ or ‘one China, one Taiwan’ , and has no intention of conflict with China. The United States has no intention of seeking to ‘decouple’ from China, has no intention of obstructing China’s economic development, and has no intention of enclosing China.”
Mobility is the key to Sino-US relations. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed: “The United States should reflect its commitments in concrete actions, rather than saying one thing and doing another.” “It is hoped that the United States will implement Mr. President’s commitments.”
The two heads of state agreed to instruct the working teams of the two countries to follow up and implement the important consensus reached in a timely manner, and take concrete actions to push China-US relations back to the track of stable development.
At 20:48, the glass door of the meeting hall opened, and President Biden walked out slowly. The meeting lasted more than 3 hours, far exceeding the expected duration. At the subsequent press conference, he delivered a number of outcomes from the meeting: “Competition should not turn to conflict,” “Keep open channels of communication,” and “I absolutely don’t think there is a need for a ‘new Cold War’.”
Although the follow-up is still to be observed, there is no doubt that this meeting hall in Bali has set the pointer for Sino-US relations to a new scale. And this keynote also brought confidence and hope to the Bali summit that opened on the second day.
Foreign media scrambled to focus, with optimistic expectations and cautious wait-and-see. Kissinger, a 99-year-old American strategist, has personally experienced the ups and downs of Sino-US relations. He admitted frankly that “there is still a long way to go”, but he made no secret of his praise for the “bridge-building” efforts of this meeting: “At least the door is open.”
During the summit: Two speeches on the right side of history
On the eve of the summit, Indonesia’s joy could not conceal its worries. President Joko talked about the difficulty of the summit, and the headline of the Indonesian newspaper expressed his heart: “Come to Bali, please don’t just rush to quarrel.” Guterres also told reporters that the summit comes at “the most critical and dangerous moment in generations.”
A big background is that “everyone has a hard time”. The world economy has not slowed down since the international financial crisis in 2008, and the momentum of recovery, which was once insignificant, has suffered another setback. The most serious infectious disease pandemic in a century will undoubtedly make things worse. More than one million people have lost their lives, the world economy has fallen into recession, and people’s livelihood has been severely damaged.
Therefore, the theme of the Bali summit is “Common Recovery, Strong Recovery”, and the three most urgent issues are the topics of the three phases of the summit, namely food and energy security, health, and digital transformation.
The key is to find the lesion and prescribe the medicine.
On the morning of the 15th, Kempinski Hotel. After the summit welcome ceremony, the first phase of the meeting kicked off.
The world is eager to hear the voice of China. “To meet the challenges of the times and build a better future together”, President Xi Jinping’s speech contains a strong problem orientation and shows the vision and expectation of building consensus:
“In the face of these challenges, all countries should establish a sense of a community with a shared future for mankind, advocate peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results, and let unity replace division, cooperation instead of confrontation, tolerance instead of exclusion, and jointly solve the problem of ‘what happened to the world and what should we do’?” Issues of the times, overcome difficulties and create the future together.”
On the second day, at the third phase of the meeting, President Xi Jinping made a special speech on the topic of digital transformation. Just like the day before, foreign dignitaries at the meeting quoted or echoed his views from time to time in subsequent speeches.
Two speeches, “zero time difference” went straight to the world. The world can understand China’s thoughts, actions and expectations from rich information.
Looking back at China’s proposals on the international stage in the new era, we have always surpassed the short-term ups and downs of the global market and the short-term ups and downs in international relations, looking ahead. The two perspectives highlighted in the speech at the summit are also the consistent adherence to major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
One perspective, focusing on development.
At the Hangzhou Summit in 2016, when China led the top-level design of global economic governance for the first time, it put development issues in a prominent position in the global macro policy framework for the first time, and the significance of its leadership will last forever.
Five years later, the landmark Global Development Initiative came out, injecting new impetus into global development.
At this summit, President Xi Jinping proposed in his speech to promote a more inclusive, more inclusive, and more resilient global development.
Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” commented on these three initiatives after the meeting: “It will point out the direction for the recovery of the world economy. This is China’s great contribution to the G20, the region and the world.”
Looking at the world, the cause of development has suffered setbacks, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has seriously lagged behind. Some countries still cling to the Cold War mentality, or only see “things” but not “people”, let alone “people”.
“We must pay more attention to the issue of development than ever before.” “We should not be beggar-thy-neighbor, build ‘small courtyards and high walls’, and engage in closed and exclusive ‘small circles’.” President Xi Jinping’s speech hits the nail on the head. At the moment when challenges are superimposed and crises are everywhere, he proposed the concept of “building a partnership for global economic recovery”, hoping to gather the unity of recovery and attract global attention.
Western scholars praised: “Chairman Xi demonstrated a rational and responsible image of China in dealing with global issues at the G20 summit.”
Another perspective, focusing on developing countries.
In recent years, as the largest developing country in the world, China has repeatedly stated its position on international occasions: “We must uphold the just claims of developing countries with confidence.”
Carefully read the full text of the two speeches, focusing on the demands and expectations of developing countries. When it comes to hard times, President Xi Jinping emphasized that “developing countries bear the brunt”; when talking about building a partnership for global economic recovery, he called for “always thinking about the difficulties of developing countries and taking care of the concerns of developing countries.”
Food, energy, debt, crisis rebirth, especially for developing countries. The Chinese plan brought by President Xi Jinping has a steady and long-term Chinese approach, a Chinese way of discussing and implementing, and a Chinese action that keeps its word.
“China supports the African Union’s joining the G20.” President Xi Jinping said righteously in his speech. When Senegalese President Sall met later, he expressed his gratitude: “Thanks to China for providing valuable help to Senegal and African countries, and being the first to publicly support the initiative of the African Union to join the G20.”
On the afternoon of the 16th, the Bali Summit Declaration was released, which surprised many people. But it also profoundly proves from another aspect that today’s world has a strong desire for unity, cooperation, and stable recovery.
The voice of China blends in between the lines of the summit declaration.
For example, President Xi Jinping emphasized in his speech to “provide new impetus for the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and “jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism”. The following day, these propositions were written into the manifesto: “Support the accelerated achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and address development challenges by reinvigorating multilateralism.”
For another example, the declaration emphasizes: “Countries recognize the importance of digital interconnection and building a favorable, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory digital economy.” All parties should work together to create an open, fair, and non-discriminatory digital economy development environment.”
Today’s China is unswervingly “standing on the right side of history” in a turbulent era.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez listened to the summit speech and said: “President Xi Jinping advocated unity and cooperation at the summit to address global challenges and promote more inclusive global development. I fully agree. China has always been a stabilizing force in the international order.”
Bilateral moments: two topics that never forget the original intention
“How are you, President?” French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the hotel where President Xi Jinping stayed early on the morning of the 15th.
President Xi Jinping greeted him with a smile standing in front of the national flag: “Very well, I think you are also very well.”
President Macron strode forward and held out his hand: “I am very happy to see you again.”
Bilateral moments on the multilateral stage, there are always many wonderful moments.
In the afternoon, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte walked into the meeting hall and said with a smile: “Today is our second meeting.”
President Xi Jinping answered cordially: “It’s a good idea.”
The summit schedule is tight. On the 15th, eight bilateral meetings took place intensively. The summit closed on the 16th, and the meeting with President Xi Jinping lasted until 9 o’clock in the evening.
The national flag was replaced in an orderly manner, and the gate of the meeting hall was opened and closed. The bilateral moments in Bali include both the neighbors who cannot be moved away and the country with the furthest distance from China. Friends and partners from Asia, Europe, Africa, America, and Oceania left answers about how countries get along with each other.
Some are new friends meeting face to face for the first time. For example, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue, Australian Prime Minister Albanese, and Italian Prime Minister Meloni. Thanks to the previous calls, some of them are no strangers when they meet.
Some are old friends who have met twice in a year. For example, Argentine President Fernandez visited Beijing in February this year, and this time he met President Xi Jinping in Bali. In July this year, President Joko Widodo visited China, and the two sides met in Indonesia after a few months.
During the summit, old and new friends came over from time to time to shake hands with President Xi Jinping. The two sides exchanged greetings, expressed regret that they could not meet more during the epidemic, and looked forward to a more in-depth exchange of views as the epidemic improves.
This year and next year will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and many countries.
In the meeting hall, people pushed open the heavy door of history time and time again. The leaders of the two sides talked about the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, and observed the past to know the future.
“Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. I often say that we must never forget our original aspirations.” When meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, President Xi Jinping recalled the past: “For half a century, the healthy and smooth development of Sino-Spain relations is rooted in the mutual adherence to mutual The original intention of establishing diplomatic relations is respect, equality and mutual benefit, and adhere to the correct path of friendly coexistence between countries with different cultures and systems.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. President Xi Jinping said: “China-Australia relations have been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed countries for a long time, and we should cherish them! In the past few years, China-Australia relations have encountered difficulties, which we do not want to see. Since Mr. Prime Minister took office, , has repeatedly stated that China-Australia relations will be handled in a mature manner, and I attach great importance to your opinions.”
Prime Minister Albanese responded: “Australia is willing to uphold the original intention of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China, and work together with China in the spirit of mutual respect and equal cooperation. These principles are still very important today.”
The 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level between China and the Netherlands, and a crucial year in the history of China-Arab relations… Looking back on the establishment of diplomatic relations, history shows the future.
Another original intention is to contribute to international and regional affairs.
“China should make greater contributions to human society and take greater responsibilities.” Such a pattern and such a feeling are inherited in one continuous line.
The members of the G20 are all major international and regional countries, and the cooperation carried out also has strong regional leverage and international influence.
When meeting with leaders of several European countries, President Xi Jinping talked about China-EU relations. The other parties expressed their willingness to actively promote EU-China dialogue and cooperation and play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of EU-China relations.
Argentina is the rotating presidency of CELAC. President Xi Jinping looks forward to working with President Fernandez to promote the construction of the China-CELAC Forum and deepen China-CELAC relations in the new era featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefit to the people.
One is the largest developing country in the world, and the other is the continent with the most developing countries in the world. China-Africa friendship spans mountains and seas. How to promote the concept of a China-Africa community with a shared future, President Xi Jinping had in-depth exchanges with leaders from Africa.
China supports South Africa as the rotating chair of the BRICS next year, and China supports Indonesia as the rotating chair of ASEAN next year… The topics are deepening, “jointly safeguarding true multilateralism” and “solving sustainable development problems.” The world is so big and there are so many problems. The international community looks forward to hearing China’s voice and seeing China’s solutions. China cannot be absent.
Pragmatic cooperation lays the foundation for bilateral relations.
President Fernandez talked about some specific cooperation projects discussed by the two sides during his visit to China in February this year. The two heads of state have a lot of expectations on how to jointly build the “Belt and Road” at a high level, and they will personally promote it.
Indonesia is the place where President Xi Jinping initiated the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” 9 years ago, which outlined the “One Belt, One Road” stroke. From “freehand brushwork” to “fine brushwork painting”, the “Belt and Road” is creating a new win-win situation in the whistle of ships, loading and unloading at docks, construction of bridges, farming in fields, and roaring of factories. transcript.
On the 16th, at the invitation of President Widodo, President Xi Jinping watched the trial operation of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway with him via video. This first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia is almost a household name in Indonesia. President Joko attaches great importance to it and has visited the construction site many times to inspect the progress.
Open roads in mountains and build bridges in waters. The Chinese economy has demonstrated strong resilience and has become the main stabilizer and power source of global economic development. The “Belt and Road” connects the world at one end and continues to expand, while at the other end it is deeply rooted in China.
There is an old Chinese saying: “Holding an elephant, the world will go.”
A Journey to Southeast Asia: Two Dimensions Closer Than Ever
During the summit, almost every foreign dignitary, when they met President Xi Jinping, would mention the grand meeting held in Beijing not long ago.
Many countries have already sent congratulatory messages at the first time. At this moment, they once again expressed their hearts, congratulating President Xi Jinping on his re-election as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, congratulating the complete success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and congratulating the great achievements of the CPC in its development.
The period since the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is also a highlight moment for China’s diplomacy. Foreign dignitaries came in droves. In Bali, some foreign dignitaries also expressed their expectations, hoping to visit China at the right time.
“Two major situations at home and abroad must be kept in mind”, this is President Xi Jinping’s exhortation to diplomatic work. Domestic and international, two dimensions that are unprecedentedly close, reflect each other.
A story about China’s imprint in multilateral diplomacy.
In his speech at the summit, the two global initiatives mentioned by President Xi Jinping correspond to the domestic strategic thinking of “coordinating development and security”. Global governance solutions such as innovation, openness, inclusiveness, and inclusiveness are exactly the mirror of the “new development concept”.
Look at these words in the summit declaration again: “Adhere to the supremacy of the people in responding to the epidemic” “Promote a more inclusive, people-centered, empowering and sustainable digital transformation” “To realize the vision of ‘harmonious co-existence between man and nature'”… …Familiar vocabulary, on the international stage.
Another story is about Chinese governance in bilateral diplomacy.
The blueprint drawn by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has opportunities for China and a more stable and predictable future. During the meeting, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that China’s conference “has established a very clear path for the future, and the goals China will pursue in the next five years and beyond have been clarified.”
“The domestic and foreign policies of the Chinese party and government are open and transparent, and their strategic intentions are open and aboveboard, maintaining a high degree of continuity and stability.” The meeting between the Chinese and U.S. leaders, and President Xi Jinping’s philosophical analysis have enhanced the strategic mutual trust between the two sides.
Chinese-style modernization, high-quality development, reform and opening up, poverty alleviation and common prosperity, and the long-standing Chinese civilization… In the meeting hall, President Xi Jinping is a vivid narrator of Chinese stories, and foreign dignitaries are very interested.
“One of the most important things in the relationship between China and the United States is to recognize this difference, respect this difference, and not insist on the same.”
“The maturity and stability of China-Australia relations should first be reflected in a correct understanding of each other’s differences and differences.”
“The Italian side does not agree with confrontation between camps, and believes that countries should respect each other’s differences and differences, strengthen unity, commit to dialogue and exchanges, and enhance mutual understanding.”
……
Like-minded people are partners, and seeking common ground while reserving differences is also a partner. These dialogues during the bilateral meeting interpreted the ancient Chinese wisdom: “All things grow together without harming each other, and Tao runs without conflict.”
The cultural diplomacy of President Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan, is silent.
On the 15th, she attended the event for spouses of the leaders of the summit organized by the wife of the Indonesian president, Iriana; on the 16th, she met with Iriana. From the exquisite rattan weaving and embroidery, Peng Liyuan saw the potential of strengthening cooperation between China and Indonesia in areas such as poverty alleviation and ecological protection. Students dressed in traditional Indonesian costumes sang “The Beautiful Solo River” in Chinese with melodious voices. Peng Liyuan encouraged them to study Chinese hard and become ambassadors of China-Indonesia cooperation.
The world is eager to understand China.
President Macron, who has visited China many times, has a profound observation of China’s development. He told President Xi Jinping that Chinese-style modernization is admirable.
A country that was poor and weak in the past, waiting to be rejuvenated, has explored a Chinese-style modernization path that is very different from the West, and created a new form of human civilization. This also provides a reference for the exploration of other countries in the world. In his speech at the summit, President Xi Jinping clearly stated: “Every country wants to live a good life, and modernization is not the privilege of any country.”
There are initiatives and solid actions.
“Building Commodity Partnerships”, “Building a Stable and Resilient Industrial Chain Supply Chain International Cooperation Initiative”, “Digital Innovation Cooperation Action Plan”, “International Food Security Cooperation Initiative”, “Global Development Initiative Friends Group”… one piece , One after another, stepping on the stone leaves a mark.
“A big country should take on the responsibilities of a big country, and should devote itself to the cause of global development.” The journey of the road, the world is for the public.
When meeting with Guterres, President Xi Jinping emphasized that all countries should do what they say and publish more report cards instead of shouting slogans. Guterres said with emotion that the efforts made by many countries cannot be compared with China.
A big country with a splendid civilization of more than 5,000 years, and a large party with more than 96 million members who have gone through a century of vicissitudes, should aspire to seek progress for mankind and great harmony for the world. This is destined to be an extraordinary journey that changes history and creates the future. (People’s Daily reporter Du Shangze Yu Yichun)