分类： politics

On a Monday gathering of nearly 500 global business leaders from China, the United States and dozens of other nations, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng delivered a keynote address at the 56th Annual World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) Global Business Forum, framing China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) as both a domestic development roadmap and an open invitation for the international community to tap into new mutually beneficial growth opportunities.

Xie laid out four core pillars of the new five-year plan to illustrate its direction and global impact. First, the blueprint centers people-centered development: more than one-third of the plan’s 20 key national indicators are dedicated to improving lifelong public well-being, marking a shift from expanding basic access to boosting the quality of social services across all age groups. Second, innovation is positioned as the primary engine of growth, with a strong focus on integrating technological breakthroughs with industrial upgrading to cultivate new quality productive forces. Third, the plan prioritizes accelerated expansion across green technology, green energy and green finance to advance China’s low-carbon transition. Fourth, openness remains a core feature of China’s modernization path, with the country set to align its regulatory frameworks with high-standard international rules in key sectors including finance and healthcare services.

Throughout his speech, Xie emphasized that over the coming five years, the world will encounter a China brimming with economic vitality and untapped potential. He highlighted the enormous opportunity presented by China’s rapidly growing consumer market, which is on track to become the world’s largest and most dynamic consumer market in the near term. Xie specifically welcomed foreign investment in high-value sectors including value-added telecommunications, biotechnology, and wholly foreign-owned medical institutions.

He also pointed to China’s globally leading innovation ecosystem, which enables rapid scaling of laboratory innovations to mass production, and framed China as both a global testbed and deployment platform for cutting-edge green technologies backed by the world’s largest clean energy infrastructure system, inviting global partners to join the ongoing global new energy revolution.

Turning to China-U.S. bilateral relations, Xie stressed that a stable China-U.S. relationship is foundational to global stability. Comparing the relationship to the first button on a shirt, he noted that getting this first button right is critical, calling on both nations to adopt a correct strategic perception that frames the two countries as partners rather than strategic rivals. Citing the healthy competitive dynamic between U.S. automaker Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers as a model, Xie advocated for fair, mutually beneficial competition over zero-sum, win-lose confrontation. He called on both sides to clarify reasonable boundaries for national security policy, restore common sense and rationality to bilateral economic cooperation, and break free from the harmful chilling effect that has constrained cross-border exchange in recent years.

Xie also shared his expectation for expanded high-level bilateral engagement in 2026, including confirming hopes for a planned visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump later this year.

Other key speakers at the forum echoed Xie’s call for open trade and constructive bilateral engagement. Thomas Young, president and CEO of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, the event’s host, noted that global markets are rapidly shifting and supply chains are continuing to evolve, meaning regions that position themselves strategically for cross-border collaboration will shape the next decade of global economic growth. He described the WTCA forum as a critical space to build professional relationships, exchange open and honest ideas, and facilitate tangible cross-border business deals.

David L. Cohen, former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, observed that international trade does not develop in a vacuum—it grows from face-to-face connections between stakeholders in forums like this one. He emphasized that few bilateral relationships carry as much global economic weight and opportunity as the partnership between China and the United States, adding that sustained dialogue and mutual understanding are absolutely essential to expanding both global economic growth and shared prosperity for both nations.

John E. Drew, chairman of the WTCA, centered his remarks on the foundational role of trust in global trade. “Trade is something that is in our genes as human beings,” Drew said, arguing that the single most important ingredient for successful cross-border trade is trust. When trading partners can rely on each other’s words and commitments, he explained, they can create unique, long-term value that benefits all sides.

During panel discussions, Kellie Meiman Hock, senior counselor at global advisory firm McLarty Associates, echoed a common sentiment among business attendees, noting that global companies crave policy certainty around trade rules of the road and tariff schedules to plan long-term investments.

As the global governing body for the World Trade Center brand, the WTCA supports more than one million enterprises across the world. Its annual Global Business Forum is the association’s flagship event, hosted each year by a different local World Trade Center to foster cross-border economic cooperation and connection.

BEIJING – In a major step forward for the country’s long-term climate and sustainable development strategy, Chinese authorities released a comprehensive policy guideline on Wednesday to scale up nationwide energy conservation and carbon reduction initiatives. The new policy document was jointly issued by two top administrative bodies: the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council.

The framework emphasizes that decarbonization and energy efficiency efforts must proceed in tandem with systematic industrial upgrading, calling for coordinated cross-sector action to balance economic growth and environmental progress. A core focus of the guideline is accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient, low-carbon and clean production technologies, specialized equipment and end products across key industrial sectors. It also outlines explicit support for integrating digital, intelligent and green technological innovations to modernize China’s traditional industrial base, bringing legacy sectors into line with national low-carbon development goals.

To lay the foundation for a cleaner energy future, the guideline lays out clear strategic priorities: capping total national consumption of both coal and oil to peak their emissions output, aggressively expanding the share of non-fossil energy in the national energy mix, scaling up emerging utility-scale energy storage systems, and speeding up construction of a flexible, renewable-centered new power system.

Beyond broad strategic direction, the policy sets out targeted implementation plans for energy conservation and carbon reduction across seven key high-impact sectors: manufacturing, construction, transportation, digital infrastructure, and public institutions operated by the government. It also confirms that strengthened regulatory oversight and performance management will be enforced to ensure all targets are met on schedule.

The policy rollout comes as China continues to advance its stated “double carbon” strategic goals, which aim to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This new guideline provides a clear, actionable policy framework to translate long-term climate commitments into concrete, sector-specific action across the country’s economy.

In a series of official statements released on Wednesday, Chinese authorities issued high praise for the international community’s unwavering commitment to the one-China principle, reaffirming that this global consensus aligns fully with international law and the foundational norms that govern cross-border relations.

The comments followed the abrupt cancellation of a planned trip to southern Africa by Lai Ching-te, the self-styled leader of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini, the only African country that maintains unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan, from April 23 to 27. The trip fell apart after three Indian Ocean island nations — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — withdrew prior approval for Lai’s aircraft to fly through their airspace.

Both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office used their regular weekly press briefings to underscore the breadth of global support for the one-China principle, pushing back against separatist claims for “Taiwan independence” and false accusations from DPP authorities.

Speaking at the briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun noted that of the 54 recognized nations on the African continent, 53 have established formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in adherence to the one-China principle. These nations, alongside the African Union, formally adopted the Beijing Declaration during the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, a document that codifies their shared commitment to the principle, he added.

Guo restated the core tenets of the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community: there exists only one sovereign China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the entire Chinese nation. He emphasized that African nations have repeatedly reaffirmed this stance and expressed firm backing for all efforts by the Chinese government to advance peaceful national reunification.

“It is an undeniable fact that there is no so-called ‘president of the Republic of China’ recognized by the international community today,” Guo said. “Any individual who claims this false title is acting in opposition to the course of history, and will only end in humiliation.”

Guo stressed that China’s full national reunification is an irreversible historical trend, and the global endorsement of the one-China principle reflects the overwhelming arc of history and the will of the global public. “No force can block the eventual reunification of China,” he said. “Separatist schemes for ‘Taiwan independence’ are completely futile and doomed to failure.”

Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, echoed these remarks, noting that the cancellation of Lai’s trip once again proves that the one-China principle is the overwhelming prevailing trend in global affairs, represents the greater good of the international order, and aligns with the shared will of the world’s people.

Zhang addressed false claims circulated by DPP authorities that the Chinese mainland had exerted “intense pressure” on the African nations that revoked Lai’s overflight permits. She dismissed these allegations as slander, self-deception and malicious defamation, noting the claims are little more than a desperate attempt to distract from the growing isolation of “Taiwan independence” separatists in the international arena.

During a high-level diplomatic visit to Hanoi this week, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna held substantive talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, outlining a bold agenda to expand bilateral collaboration across trade, digital technology and governance transformation. Diplomatic ties between the small Baltic EU member and the Southeast Asian economic heavyweight have warmed considerably in recent years, with a landmark bilateral digital cooperation agreement already set to take effect in 2025. Though Estonia contributes only 0.2% of the entire European Union’s total gross domestic product, the nation has carved out a global reputation as a pioneering leader in digital governance and e-government innovation, expertise it is eager to share with Vietnam as Hanoi pursues sweeping domestic reforms to reach high-income economy status by 2045. Tsahkna emphasized that partnering to digitize Vietnam’s public services would deliver tangible benefits: cutting through bureaucratic red tape, boosting government transparency, and reducing operational costs for both citizens and businesses. “It becomes far faster for people to access public sector services when systems are fully digitized,” Tsahkna told reporters from the Associated Press on the sidelines of the Hanoi meetings. He added that Vietnamese officials had already tabled a proposal for a new bilateral education cooperation agreement, opening another avenue for people-to-people ties. According to Vietnamese state media, Prime Minister Hung made two key requests of Estonia during the talks: that the Baltic nation push the European Union to formally ratify the stalled EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, and that it back Hanoi’s efforts to have the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning lifted. The trade restriction currently blocks many Vietnamese seafood imports over unsubstantiated claims of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Beyond economic and digital cooperation, Tsahkna framed the bilateral partnership as mutually beneficial in broader strategic terms: Estonia can act as a convenient, low-barrier gateway for Vietnamese companies seeking access to the 27-nation EU single market, while Vietnam gives Estonia a strategic foothold and access to one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the Southeast Asian region. “For us, Vietnam is one of the priority countries in the entire Indo-Pacific region,” Tsahkna said. The visit also gave Estonian officials a platform to share Europe’s perspective on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where Estonia views Russian aggression as an “existential threat” to European security. This outreach comes as Vietnam has maintained a long-standing diplomatic relationship with Moscow stretching back to 1950, and has stuck to a carefully calibrated neutral stance on the war, calling for peaceful negotiations while declining to issue direct public criticism of Russia. Tsahkna acknowledged that Estonia’s renewed diplomatic focus on Vietnam and broader Southeast Asia is shaped by both shifting geopolitical pressures and new economic opportunities. In particular, he noted that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of European defense spending and persistent transatlantic tariff tensions have pushed the EU to diversify its diplomatic and economic partnerships beyond traditional allies, turning greater attention to fast-growing emerging markets across the Indo-Pacific.

BANGKOK – As the latest Middle East conflict roils global energy markets and upends regional security, China’s emergence as an informal behind-the-scenes mediator has captured international attention, marking a key milestone in Beijing’s push to frame itself as a responsible global power at a moment when U.S. policy has frayed long-standing American alliances.

Over the past decade, China has deliberately expanded its diplomatic footprint across the globe, a sharp departure from its historic approach of avoiding deep involvement in conflicts far from its borders. Today, Beijing has positioned itself as a major diplomatic player, stepping in to facilitate de-escalation in disputes stretching from the Southeast Asian border to Eastern Europe. In the ongoing Iran conflict, while Beijing has not claimed the title of official mediator, both Washington and Tehran have acknowledged its meaningful contributions to cooling hostilities.

Experts note that China’s mediation strategy across multiple conflicts follows a consistent pattern, with mixed results in shaping final negotiation outcomes. However, its current engagement in the Iran war comes at a uniquely opportune moment: the unilateral, alliance-straining policies of the Donald Trump administration have left traditional U.S. partners increasingly wary of American leadership, opening space for China to step into the diplomatic gap.

In the Iran conflict specifically, China’s deep economic and political ties to Tehran grant it a rare level of influence, a particularly critical advantage at a time when fighting has disrupted global energy supplies, most acutely impacting Asian markets. Former President Trump has publicly stated he believes China pushed Iran to enter ceasefire negotiations, a step that led to the extended fragile truce currently in place. Unnamed diplomatic sources told the Associated Press that Beijing, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil under international sanctions, used its economic leverage to encourage Iranian negotiators to attend the landmark face-to-face talks held in Pakistan earlier this month.

Yaqi Li, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, explained that Beijing has not publicly confirmed this account, largely because it seeks to avoid being framed as a participant in a U.S.-led security architecture. Still, the move has been widely viewed as a pivotal moment for China, which has openly criticized the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

Since the conflict began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, senior Chinese diplomats have maintained intense outreach to all regional parties. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held 30 phone calls with officials from Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and other relevant stakeholders as of mid-April, according to official foreign ministry records. Wang also hosted his counterpart from Pakistan – which serves as the official lead mediator for the current talks – to unveil a five-point Chinese peace proposal that calls for an immediate end to hostilities and the full reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

In an unusually public shift, Chinese President Xi Jinping has also taken an outspoken stance on the conflict. Last week, he warned against a global return to the “law of the jungle,” and this week he explicitly called for the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for 20% of the world’s daily oil supply, to be reopened to commercial traffic.

Analysts point out that China’s influence in the region stems directly from its status as an economic superpower. George Chen, a partner at the global consultancy The Asia Group, noted that China’s role in the Iran situation is functionally irreplaceable. As Tehran’s top oil customer, its diplomatic input carries far more weight than many other global actors, and it is one of the few major powers that has publicly expressed sympathy for Iran’s position at the United Nations. The U.S. government has also documented that Iran’s ballistic missile program was developed using Chinese technology, and China continues to sell dual-use industrial components that can be adapted for missile production.

While China has not taken the lead in active on-the-ground mediation like Pakistan and key Gulf Arab states, it holds a unique position as a critical economic partner for nearly every major actor in the region. Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, explained that Beijing is uniquely able to offer Tehran tangible economic incentives that will matter greatly after the war ends, including pledges of reconstruction investment and commercial relief that few other countries can match. “It could be one of the few actors capable of giving Tehran both political cover and material incentives to accept constraints and stick to them,” Gering noted.

This current mediation effort is just one part of a broader trend of growing Chinese global diplomatic engagement in recent years. One of Beijing’s most high-profile diplomatic successes came in 2023, when it helped broker the historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran that restored official diplomatic ties between the two long-time rivals. The breakthrough was widely celebrated as a major geopolitical achievement that reduced the risk of open conflict across the Middle East.

However, Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies in Indonesia, pointed out that China carefully selects which conflicts it engages in, often stepping in only when conditions are already ripe for a deal. “Its mediation tends to be opportunistic and low-risk, often occurring when the parties themselves already have incentives to reach agreement,” Rakhmat explained.

Beyond the Middle East, China has also tested its mediation model in other regional conflicts. It hosted multiple rounds of talks between Thailand and Cambodia during their 2024 border dispute, joined U.S. negotiators for initial ceasefire discussions in Malaysia, and helped broker a second truce after fighting reignited in December. Beijing has also put forward a formal peace proposal for the ongoing war in Ukraine, and even hosted the Ukrainian foreign minister for talks, despite its stated “no-limits” strategic partnership with Russia.

Across all of these mediation efforts, experts note that China’s public messaging follows a consistent script, with heavy emphasis on upholding the United Nations Charter, respect for national sovereignty, and adherence to international law. In comments on the Iran conflict, Xi echoed this standard framework, calling for “upholding the principles of peaceful coexistence, upholding national sovereignty, upholding the rule of international law, and coordinating development and security.”

Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University, noted that this consistent framing is a deliberate choice. “A lot of the points are remarkably consistent,” he said.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of international relations at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, argued that for China, engaging in distant conflicts carries low direct strategic risk but offers major reputational benefits, especially as the international community adjusts to the Trump administration’s unconventional negotiation approach. “What the U.S. is doing is deeply damaging, and everyone suffers from it … and China is displaying global leadership and exerting its global role by speaking to the rules-based international system,” he said. “It’s an inescapable contrast.”

Leung contributed reporting from Hong Kong.