Xi Jinping asks Chinese envoys to adhere to fighting spirit as he reviews China’s diplomatic work amid raging conflicts

Beijing, Dec 29 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met China’s diplomats from all over the world and spoke to them about Beijing’s diplomatic priorities amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the raging conflict in the Middle East and the continued slowdown of the economy.
Chinese envoys and consular officials from all over the world took part in the Friday meeting addressed by Xi.
China has not yet appointed its Ambassador to India following the return of Sun Weidong last year.
Earlier in his address to the two-day Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs which concluded on Thursday, Xi urged the country’s diplomats and cadres to “break new ground”, “rally the overwhelming majority” of the world and adhere to the “fighting spirit”.
Xi warned of “high winds and choppy waters” ahead because the world had “entered a new period of turbulence and transformation” a thinly veiled reference to China’s feud with the US and its allies over ideological and geopolitical differences, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
An official readout on the outcome of the conference on Thursday said China has gained more “strategic autonomy” and emerged as a “responsible major country” with enhanced international influence under the leadership of Xi.
“We have opened up new prospects in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and gained much more strategic autonomy and initiative in our diplomacy,” the meeting said about China’s diplomatic progress in the outgoing year.
“China has become a responsible major country with enhanced international influence, stronger capacity to steer new endeavours, and greater moral appeal,” it said.
The Central Conference on Foreign Affairs Work has been held only three times in 2006, 2014 and 2018, the Post quoted official media.
In his speech at the conference, Xi reported to have reviewed China’s diplomatic relations with various countries, including with the US, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the raging Middle East conflict and frozen ties with India over the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Xi systematically reviewed the historic achievements and valuable experience of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the press release said.
Analysts said the timing of the meeting was of particular significance amid signs of socioeconomic headwinds at home and growing international scrutiny and resistance, despite Beijing’s recent efforts to dial down its rancorous rivalry with the US-led West.
Xi, 70, the only Chinese leader after ruling Communist Party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power for an unprecedented third five-year term after emerging as a core leader of the party, has been pushing for China’s diplomatic and military clout across the world since he took over power in 2012.
His first two terms focussed on beefing up the military with massive defence outlays and aggressive diplomacy with his USD trillion dollar ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) – the mega infrastructure development project which also earned the tag of debt diplomacy.
His third term is marked by China’s economic slowdown, which observers say may put limitations on China’s overseas spending.
After prolonged diplomatic tensions with the US, President Xi last month had a surprisingly fruitful summit with his American counterpart Joe Biden where the two leaders agreed on cooling down the increasingly tense relations between the two countries amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Israel-Hamas war in which both the countries took divergent stance.
While Xi subsequently held high-profile summits with Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida, leaders of the EU and his recent charm offensive visit to Vietnam, he is yet to come up with any initiatives to improve tense relations with India.
The relations were frozen after the May 2020 military actions by China in eastern Ladakh leading to a prolonged standoff between the two militaries.