Xi's Mideast visit portrays all-round diplomacy

President Xi Jinping started his first tour of the Middle East on Tuesday, during which he will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran. After fully assuming the country's leadership in March 2013, Xi has visited many countries, which signify China's increasingly maturing all-round diplomacy. And that is precisely why Xi's visit to the Middle East, which is also his first foreign tour in 2016, has acquired additional importance.

The visit, to begin with, highlights the strategic importance of the Middle East for China's Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, is aimed at creating a community of shared economic dividends and destiny along both the routes. The Middle East, which is a bridge between China and Europe, is a vital link in the success of the initiative.

Besides, the Middle East has about 60 percent of the world's energy reserves and encircles the most important shipping route. The importance of the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz for the global economy is often compared with that of a throat for a human body.