Xi spearheads head-of-state diplomacy as chief architect: FM

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping, as the chief architect of China's major-country diplomacy, has been personally involved in planning and conducting "brilliant" head-of-state diplomacy, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday.

Xi has visited 57 countries and received more than 110 foreign heads of state since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, deepening the world's understanding of China, enhancing China's profile and influence, and facilitating the solution to many global problems, Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

"President Xi's leadership and charisma has earned him and his country many good friends, among foreign leaders who represent a diverse range of cultures and social systems," he said.

Apart from hosting the four major events in China, Xi will attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Papua New Guinea and the G20 Summit in Argentina this year, Wang said.

These will make a positive and responsible contribution to the welfare of Chinese people, interest of China, and wellbeing of the world, and will write a whole new chapter of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, he said.