The effective diplomacy of reassurance

Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world." China has woken up and shaken the world but not the way Napoleon or many others feared. Instead, it has injected vital energy into the world economy, staunchly defended globalization, and helped improve infrastructure in cooperation with other countries.

During my travels in some countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, I have seen how new economic opportunities have been created for countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. China has woken up to defend free trade and stand by the Paris Climate Agreement and UNESCO. It has woken up also to give thousands of scholarships to students from developing countries while welcoming students from the West, as well.

Through its actions and policies, at a time when the West is retreating from the global stage and cooperation, China is trying to reassure the world of its continued cooperation. And that is precisely what General Secretary Xi Jinping tried to do in his report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Oct 18.