Xi building bridges on global tour

I was shocked the other day to see this headline in a Canadian newspaper: "The good news from Xi Jinping's world tour was that there was no news". On the contrary, any thoughtful observer can see that the trip was not only successful as a confidence-building exercise, but also important on many other levels. The trip cements a firm foundation for future relations in North America, the European Union and with Turkey, the Middle East's ascendant power.

While I have not seen any public opinion polling data from the US, Ireland or Turkey, reflecting attitudinal changes during the visit, one can confidently predict that China's "favorables" will rise noticeably in those three countries, as well as in others.

I was happy to see Vice-President Xi and the leaders of all three countries agreeing on the need for enhanced person-to-person contacts and cultural exchanges. I was especially happy that the US initiative to get 100,000 American students studying in China was given special emphasis.