Foreign Minister Wang Yi has announced that China’s diplomatic thrust for this year will center on the one-focus, two-main theme initiative, or the so-called "One Belt, One Road" initiatives.
Minister Wang made the announcement during the national legislative session on March 8, Sunday, confirming President Xi Jinping's new concept on China's new diplomatic thrust, which is aimed at enhancing relations with neighboring countries and taking a proactive approach in addressing main issues.
The Global Times reported that the two main themes of the initiatives are peace and development as the minister mentioned.
Part of the initiatives are enhancing dialogue with other countries, enlarging scope of shared interest, and exploration of potential areas of joint benefit.
Liu Jiangyong, vice director of the Modern International Relations Institute at Tsinghua University, said that the new type of international relations that China wants to promote in 2015 is crucial to the success of the "Belt and Road" program, as it will emphasize closer interaction with neighboring countries that include India, North Korea, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the China-South Korea-Japan trilateral cooperation.
Liu added that the initiative would also enable the government to explore more free trade agreements.
Premier Li Keqiang said on March 5 that the government will work to attain further diplomatic relations with neighboring countries and establish a community with one future goal.
Wang said that the country's new international policy thrust would help develop win-win cooperation, built through partnerships instead of alliances.
"The new type of international relations means a shift in China's foreign policy from creating more favorable conditions for China's growth to taking greater responsibility over international issues," Chen Zhimin, dean of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, told the Global Times.