习近平积极外交获成效

习近平积极外交获成效

Xi's proactive foreign policy fruitful

The first year of Chinese President Xi Jinping has been one of the most active periods for China's foreign policy. By championing a proactive foreign policy, Xi has injected enormous energy into China's diplomacy, though he also must ensure that it does not result in unnecessary conflicts with neighboring countries, for he would not like his foreign policy to disrupt his two main goals of economic reforms and eliminating corruption.

While Xi's proactive domestic policies show that he is a leader with a missionary zeal, he has emerged equally powerful on the international scene. In the past year, he has visited 14 countries and attended half-a-dozen of multilateral forums that include several bilateral meetings on the sidelines. His first year in office as president shows a pattern in his foreign visits-they are aimed at evolving a new type of major power relationship.

On a broader level, Xi seeks to project the foreign policy as the locomotive of his Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, improvement of people's livelihoods, overall prosperity, building a better society and strengthening the military.

Xi's first state visit to Russia within a week of taking over as president in March last year had evoked speculation, not least because Beijing and Moscow have been cooperating more closely in many fields and often form the bulwark against the liberal political juggernaut of Western powers. In view of the United States having announced its "pivot to Asia" policy in 2011, China and Russia agreed to "resolutely support each other in efforts to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests". In doing so, China made it clear that it can build on its own sources of support to counterbalance the US' increasing engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

Xi's visit to Russia just eight days after taking over as China's president prompted observers to ask when he would visit the US. But even his visit to Russia was not a standalone affair. His visits to Tanzania, the Republic of Congo and South Africa, where Xi attended the fifth BRICS summit, were part of his first foreign trip as president. But then Xi didn't choose the US even for his next foreign trip; instead he visited Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Xi and US President Barack Obama ultimately met at a "shirt-sleeve" summit at Sunnylands in California in June. At the meeting, Xi refuted Washington's cyber-terrorism allegations, which was followed by revelations of the US global surveillance program by former National Security Agency operative Edward Snowden. Most media commentaries saw this as a game-changing development for China's new leader.

But in the long term, the Xi-Obama meeting laid the foundation for the development of a "new type of power relationship" in which Washington endorses Beijing's proactive role as it fits into Washington's burden-sharing strategies. An example of this new type of relationship is China's help in shipping out Syria's chemical weapons for destruction.

Xi's first year in office has also seen an improvement in Sino-French ties. In fact, China and France are set to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties this year. Sino-French relations suffered a setback in 2008 because former French president Nicolas Sarkozy ignored China's warning and met with the Dalai Lama. But French President Francois Hollande's visit to China in April last year, the first by the leader of a major Western power after Xi took office, changed the equations, which became more favorable after French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's visit to Beijing in December. It seems France, like Italy and Germany, wants to use its economic engagement with China to accelerate its economic turnaround. Next week President Xi will visit Europe, which will no doubt cement the achievements of Sino-European ties last year.

In China's neighborhood, given the impact of the "pivot to Asia" policy of the US, Xi seems to have adopted a two-pronged strategy of engagement and non-compromise. China's announcements of an Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea and a "no-fishing zone" in the South China Sea have been accompanied by a 10-point cooperation program with Vietnam, which talks of security cooperation and joint gas exploration in the Gulf of Tonkin. And China's "charm offensive" of reviving the Silk Road and the "Maritime Silk Road" across Central Asia and Southeast and South Asia has witnessed the signing of series of free trade, investment and infrastructure-building deals.

Xi has also paid attention to China's neighbors, visiting Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in September. During the trip Xi attended the 8th G20 Summit in St. Petersburg and the 13th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Bishkek, where he also held several bilateral meetings with other regional leaders.

In October, Xi visited Indonesia and Malaysia and attended the APEC meeting in Bali, where again he held several bilateral meetings. Indeed, the absence of Obama (because of the financial default-forced US government shutdown) in Bali, made Xi the most visible dignitary with positive spin-offs for China-ASEAN relations.

The fact that around the same time Premier Li Keqiang was in Brunei to attend the East Asia Summit, which was followed by his visits to Thailand and Vietnam, made China the flavor of the times.

But more than anything else, the formation of the National Security Commission stands out as the most novel contribution of Xi in the past year. Headed by Xi, Li and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the NSC is aimed at strengthening civilian control over the military and security (especially cybersecurity) components of foreign policy.

The above developments give an indication of how China's leadership under Xi will use the foreign and domestic policies to resolve China's formidable challenges, including those concerning Sino-Japanese and Sino-Indian ties.

The author is professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

在中国国家主席习近平执政这一年来，是中国外交最为活跃的一个时期。推行积极的对外政策为中国外交注入了无限活力。但同时，为了不影响经济改革和消除腐败两大目标的实现，习近平主席还必须确保外交政策的实施不会引起不必要的邻国冲突。
从习主席的内政思路可以看出，他是一位踌躇满志的领导人，在国际舞台中也同样具有影响力。去年，习主席出访了14个国家，出席6次多边论坛，其中包括出席几次双边非正式会议。从习近平执政这一年来看：外访方式旨在发展一种新型大国关系。
从广义上来看，习主席竭力推进外交政策以振兴中华，改善民生，推动繁荣，强化军力，从而实现伟大的“中国梦”。
去年三月，习近平上任第一周，首次对俄国进行国事访问。此举引发众多猜疑，不仅因为中俄在许多领域都合作紧密，而且多次联合抵制西方大国的自由政治霸权。2011年，美国颁布"重返亚太"政策。中俄达成共识，坚定不移地支持对方，共同保护国家主权、安全和发展利益。中国以此明晰立场，中方有能力寻求支援，与美方在亚太地区不断干涉这一势力相抗衡。
习近平上台8天后便出访俄罗斯，这引发评论员的猜测：“中国主席习近平何时访美？” 但除了俄罗斯，习近平还访问了非洲的其他三个国家——坦桑尼亚，刚果共和国和南非，并在南非出席了第五次金砖国家领导人峰会。这是习近平上任来首次外访的部分行程。随后习近平并未继续访美，而是对拉丁美洲岛国特立尼达和多巴哥，哥斯达黎加和墨西哥进行了国事访问。
去年六月，中美两国元首在加州举行“不打领带”的庄园会晤。在会晤期间，习近平驳斥了美方指控中国的网络恐怖主义。此前，还指控前美国中央情报局（CIA）雇员，爱德华·斯诺登曝光美国全球监控项目信息。多数媒体将此视为中国新一代领导人的角色大逆转。
但从长远来看，习奥会晤为新型大国关系的发展奠定了基础，此间，华盛顿认同北京的积极作用，因为这符合其责任分担战略。中国在解除叙利亚化学武器行动中的积极作用印证了这种新型大国关系。
习近平上任的第一年，中法关系进一步发展。实际上，今年是中法建交50周年。2008年，法国前总统尼古拉萨尔科齐不顾中国的警告，会见达赖喇嘛，致使中法关系倒退。但在去年4月，法国现任总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德出访中国。这是在习近平上任后西方大国领导人首次访华，中法关系有所改善。同年12月，法国首相让-马克·埃罗访问北京，中法关系取得更有利的发展。正如意大利和德国，法国也希望在经济方面和中国进行正面接触，从而加速其经济回升。3月22日，习主席将出访欧洲各国。毫无疑问，这将进一步巩固去年中欧在外交方面取得的成就。
在中国的邻国中，鉴于美国推行的“重返亚洲”政策的影响，习主席双管齐下，既交往也不妥协。中国宣布在东海设立防空识别区以及在南海设立禁渔区，同时，中越开展10点合作计划，其中包括安全合作和在北部湾的联合天然气勘探。中国在中亚，东南亚以及南亚复兴中国丝绸之路及海上丝绸之路的“笑脸攻势”，推动签订了一系列自由贸易，投资和基础设施建设协定。
习近平也注重邻国关系，去年九月份他出访了哈萨克斯坦，乌兹别克斯坦，土库曼斯坦和吉尔吉斯斯坦。在出访期间，他参加了在圣彼得斯堡举行的第八次G20国领导人峰会以及在比什凯克举办的第十三次上海合作组织峰会。同时，他也多次和其他区域领导人进行了双边会谈。
去年十月，习近平对印度尼西亚和马来西亚进行了国事访问，并出席了在印尼巴厘举办的亚太经合会议第二十一次领导人非正式会议，同时也进行了多次双边会谈。实际上，因债务违约导致美国政府关门，奥巴马未能出席亚太经合会议。但是奥巴马的缺席使得中国主席习近平唱“主角”占先机，增进与东盟各国间的关系。
与此同时，中国国务院总理李克强出访泰国和越南，随后又出席在文莱举办的东亚峰会，同样也使中国赚足了眼球。
但最重要的是中国成立了国家安全委员会，这是习近平去年最突出的贡献。该国家安全委员会由中国国家主席习近平，国务院总理李克强以及全国人民代表大会常务委员会主席张德江为首，旨在加强对国内军事和外交政策安全建构，尤其是网络安全的监督和控制。
以上的发展表明，以习近平为首的中国领导人将会如何运用外交内政，解决中国面临的包括影响中日和中印关系的一系列重大挑战。

>>点击查看更多关于双语新闻的文章