Summit diplomacy

Summit diplomacy has been the core pillar of China's international engagement in recent years. President Xi Jinping has been more active in global affairs than any previous Chinese leader and 2018 saw top-level summitry become more important than ever.

The role of summit diplomacy was evident at the recent G20 Buenos Aires Summit. As well as exploring joint solutions to global challenges, this gathering became an important chance to prevent the Sino-U.S. trade dispute from spiraling out of control. To the world's relief, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump were able to reach a preliminary "ceasefire" agreement to start working to resolve differences over economic relations.

While supporting existing mechanisms such as the G20, China has also led the creation and strengthening of new platforms to promote free trade and international cooperation. In 2018, China hosted four such international events: the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit and the China International Import Expo (CIIE).

At the Boao Forum event in April, Xi sent a clear signal: China will continue to open up its economy and promote globalization with pledges to expand market access and improve the business environment for foreign investors. He also pledged to promote import growth. This gave firm support to globalization amid the protectionist wave that has swept the world.

This theme was reinforced at the inaugural CIIE in November. Much more than a trade fair, the CIIE served as a landmark in the evolution of China's development and its economic interaction with the rest of the world. Once renowned as the "factory of the world" for its role as an export powerhouse, today it is China's consumer market and imports that serve as an engine for global growth. As Xi said in his opening speech, over the next 15 years, China is set to import $30 trillion worth of goods and $10 trillion in services.

In June, the coastal city of Qingdao played host to the 2018 SCO Summit. Formed 17 years ago with regional security objectives in mind, the agenda of the SCO has broadened to include other areas of cooperation such as the economy and the environment. This year's summit was significant as India and Pakistan attended in as new full members. The eight-member SCO now accounts for nearly half of the world's population and over a fifth of the global GDP.

These events reflect China's efforts to build platforms and engage a broad range of partners across the world.

Sino-U.S. relations

China and the U.S. are the world's most significant economic and political actors. In 2018, the twists and turns in their relations have formed the central storyline, not just of China's external relations, but of global affairs at large. As the trade dispute intensified, the goal of stabilizing the relations with the U.S. has been a key objective for Chinese diplomacy.

The meeting between the two presidents following the G20 Summit averted further escalation of tariffs and brought both sides back to the negotiating table. But despite this reprieve, it is clear that a fundamental shift has occurred in the relationship. A bipartisan view of China as an antagonist and biggest strategic competitor has coalesced in Washington. The U.S. approach of engagement in previous years is gradually being replaced by a mindset of containment.

In this regard, it was encouraging that the second annual U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue was held in Beijing in November. This gave top diplomats and military officials from both sides a chance to talk and share perspectives of contentious issues.

Despite frictions, the two countries still have enormous potential synergies to exploit through closer cooperation, particularly with respect to transnational challenges such as climate change. China's participation in California's Global Climate Action Summit in September showed that there are many channels for the two to work together. Deepening cooperation at the local level may offer an effective way to do this.

Breakthroughs with neighbors

Efforts to strengthen relations in the region to create a benign environment for the growth of economic and cultural links within Asia have contributed to breakthroughs with three fellow nations over the year.

First, 2018 saw a notable warming of ties between China and Japan. The premiers of both countries made reciprocal visits. Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Japan in May was followed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Beijing in October, the first stand-alone journey to China by a Japanese leader in nearly seven years. During this visit, the premiers of Asia's two biggest economies reached a series of agreements to deepen economic and trade ties.

Sino-Indian relations also experienced a positive turnaround following a period of heightened tensions caused by their border friction last year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in April, holding talks with Xi to build mutual trust and deepen cooperation. China and India, the world's two most populous nations, share strong cultural ties and economic complementarities. It is encouraging to see that Sino-Indian relations are now on a track to closer collaboration.

Third, with China's support, there has also been progress on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. This has seen the Democratic People's Republic of Korea hold breakthrough summits with China, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea. These are initial but important steps toward defusing tension on the peninsula and opening a channel for lasting peace in the region.