As 2025 draws to a close, a review of Chinese President Xi Jinping's diplomatic engagements throughout the year reflects China's firm and steady strides on the global stage.

This year has been one of turbulence and transformation, marked by rising conflicts and escalating frictions.

At a time when humanity once again stands at a crossroads, China's diplomacy under Xi's leadership offers a clear answer to the choices between unity and division, dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum rivalry.

FORGING GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SYNERGY

2025 has emerged as a pivotal year for global governance, with Xi proposing the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin — the largest gathering in the 24-year history of the organization, which brought together leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations.

Xi highlighted five principles of the GGI: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions.

The GGI, the fourth landmark global initiative raised by Xi after the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, is considered another important public good that China contributes to the world.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations.

On Sept 3, two days after the conclusion of the SCO Tianjin Summit, a massive military parade was held in central Beijing to commemorate the victory. While addressing a reception commemorating the Victory Day, Xi called for firmly upholding international fairness and justice, staying committed to the path of peaceful development, and making unremitting efforts to improving people's well-being at all times.

Today, the question of how to reform the global governance system and advance global peace and development has been asked among nations around the globe.

In September, while delivering video remarks at the UN Climate Summit, Xi announced China's new Nationally Determined Contributions, including a 7 to 10 percent reduction in economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions from peak levels and increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30 percent by 2035.

In October, during the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing, he outlined China's proposals to support women in "enabling them to play a substantive role in global governance and share in its benefits."

A month later, at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in the Republic of Korea (ROK), Xi urged economies to "bear in mind the well-being of the entire humanity, and promote the sound and orderly development of AI while ensuring that it is beneficial, safe and fair."

As the world grapples with a deficit in rules-based governance and a widening gap in global cooperation, the initiatives underscore China's commitment to advancing global governance by working together "to fully mobilize resources from all quarters and tackle more effectively the common challenges for humanity."

UPHOLDING WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIP

Within this year, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had active engagements.

"Persistently promoting the high-level development of China-Russia relations is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is also the source of stability for world peace," Xi once said.

Throughout the course of this year, Xi held multiple phone conversations with US President Donald Trump. In October, the two leaders met after a six-year interval, holding a 100-minute meeting in ROK's Busan.

"China and the United States should be partners and friends. That is what history has taught us and what reality needs," Xi said. Trump said China is a great country and Xi is a well respected great leader. With joint efforts, the two countries can get many great things done for the world, Trump added.

In December, Xi met with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. He also engaged in in-depth exchanges with leaders of Germany, Spain, Portugal and other European countries throughout the year. He called for strengthening communication, enhancing trust and deepening cooperation between China and Europe in a more challenging and complex international situation.

Xi's overseas engagements in 2025 have also been focused on China's neighborhood. Following the central conference on work related to neighboring countries held in April, Xi paid a state visit to three southeastern Asian countries, promoting ties with Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.

In June, the heads of state of China and the five Central Asian countries jointly signed a treaty of permanent good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. The two sides also signed over 60 bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as development strategy alignment, energy, and connectivity.

From late October to early November, Xi visited the ROK for the first time in 11 years, during which the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries was reaffirmed.

China announced to advance the implementation of a zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff lines for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. The country also pledged to make joint efforts with Latin American and Caribbean nations to advance solidarity, development, civilization, peace, and people-to-people connectivity.

Over the outgoing year, there was a long list of visiting foreign leaders from all five continents.

"China is working with various parties to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and supports the modernization drive of more developing countries, which will help open up new space for global development," Xi noted.

China plays a leading role among the Global South, treating countries equally, regardless of size, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, and walking the talk in international affairs, said Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, the first foreign leader to visit China in January this year.

PURSUING SHARED FUTURE FOR HUMANITY

China and Central Asia, spanning nearly 1.5 billion people and over 13.6 million square kilometers of land, do not support bloc politics or Cold War confrontation. During the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Xi said that China stands ready to work with all parties to defend international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics.

A single glimpse reveals the entirety: China contributes its strength to an equal and orderly multipolar world.

On multilateral platforms such as the BRICS and the SCO, Xi expressed China's dedication to increasing the representation and voice of Global South countries, and standing as a pillar in promoting a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations.

In the face of shocks to the global economy from decoupling and supply chain disruptions, China champions a path toward a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

"Multilateralism is the only choice for addressing global challenges, and economic globalization is an unstoppable trend of history," said Xi in his meeting with more than 40 representatives of the international business community in March in Beijing.

So far, China has introduced unilateral visa exemptions for 48 countries and eased transit visa policies, signed 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions, and continuously shortened its negative list for foreign investment.

On Nov 1, Xi announced in ROK's Gyeongju that the Chinese city of Shenzhen will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November 2026.

Xi has continued to steer toward mutually beneficial cooperation and win-win outcomes, demonstrating a genuine spirit of openness, said Amin Nasser, President of Saudi Aramco.

China also embodies a vision of advancing human civilization through actions.

In February, Xi and international dignitaries gathered in Harbin, the host city of the ninth Asian Winter Games. With a record high in the number of participating countries and regions as well as athletes, China and the world have together achieved mutual learning among civilizations through sports.

In a congratulatory letter to the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting, Xi stressed an ever-pressing need for civilizations to transcend estrangement through exchanges, and to transcend clashes through mutual learning.

This year, Xi has introduced the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Beijing Central Axis to the visiting King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua of the Kingdom of Thailand, encouraged young sinologists to serve as messengers to promote mutual understanding between Chinese and foreign civilizations, and called on China and Egypt to contribute the strength of civilizations to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Just as Xi noted in his 2025 new year message, "China will work with all countries to promote friendship and cooperation, enhance mutual learning among different cultures, and build a community with a shared future for humanity. We must jointly create a better future for the world."