Xiplomacy: Bringing a personal touch to Chinese diplomacy

Sommad Pholsena, who served as the minister of public works and transport of Laos, took part in the construction of the China-Laos Railway. "The Lao people had long dreamed of having a railway," he said. "It was the Belt and Road Initiative that made the China-Laos Railway possible."

Sommad was a schoolmate of Xi. He is the son of the late Quinim Pholsena, a revolutionary leader who was foreign minister of Laos from 1962 to 1963. Several of Pholsena's children lived and studied at Bayi School in Beijing in the 1960s, when Xi was also a student there.

During Xi's visits to Laos in 2010 as Chinese vice-president and 2017 as president, he set aside time to meet with his friends from the Pholsena family and reunite with his former schoolmates. "No matter what, I had to make time to see you," Xi told them.

"President Xi is a true friend who values friendship," Sommad said.

He also remembers Xi's words: With the (China-Laos) railway, the mountain from Kunming to Vientiane is no longer high and the road no longer long.

Lasting friendship is built on mutual understanding, respect and sincerity. "Only when people engage each other with sincerity can friendship endure," Xi said. "It is the countless small streams of friendship among peoples that come together to form the mighty force advancing world peace and development and building a community with a shared future for humanity."