President calls on envoys to forge deeper friendships

The past few years have witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating suppression and containment of China by some countries. This has "brought exceptional challenges" to the country's diplomacy and the envoys "have endured exceptional tests", Xi said.

He sent warm greetings to the envoys and other diplomats, praising them for "sacrificing their families for the sake of common good".

Speaking of professional skills, Xi asked the officials to "be adept at making broader and deeper friendships" and come up with more practical measures to solve difficult problems. Efforts to win people's hearts and minds should be made during official occasions and also at the community level, he added.

Chinese diplomats should "use internationalized language and methods to tell China's story better", engage in exchanges and communication between China and the rest of the world, and link the past and the present, in order to "enable the world to better understand China in the new era", Xi said.

When talking about the diplomats' original aspirations and missions, Xi emphasized that they should be loyal to the Party, the country and the people. "No matter where you go, you must never forget why you started," he said.