Former Australian leader lauds Xi's initiatives

Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister and a proficient speaker of Mandarin, gave high marks to Xi Jinping as he reviewed Chinese diplomacy over the past two years - bilingually, of course.

"I read Xi Dada's speech," he said, referring to Xi's speech at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs last month in Beijing. Xi Dada, meaning Uncle Xi, is a nickname widely used by Chinese netizens.

Xi said at the key foreign affairs meeting that China should establish "big country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics".