Xi's diplomacy in 2025: Shedding light on a world at crossroads

In December, Xi met with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. He also engaged in in-depth exchanges with leaders of Germany, Spain, Portugal and other European countries throughout the year. He called for strengthening communication, enhancing trust and deepening cooperation between China and Europe in a more challenging and complex international situation.

Xi's overseas engagements in 2025 have also been focused on China's neighborhood. Following the central conference on work related to neighboring countries held in April, Xi paid a state visit to three southeastern Asian countries, promoting ties with Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.

In June, the heads of state of China and the five Central Asian countries jointly signed a treaty of permanent good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. The two sides also signed over 60 bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as development strategy alignment, energy, and connectivity.

From late October to early November, Xi visited the ROK for the first time in 11 years, during which the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries was reaffirmed.