On December 30, 2025, at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that facing the global development predicament, China acted as a main engine. Global growth is losing steam, unilateralism and protectionism are running unchecked, international economic and trade order is facing serious disruptions, and countries are confronting major development challenges. Despite mounting economic pressure, China has pushed forward with innovation-led and high-quality development. And in this process, China has provided underpinning for the world economy with its strong resilience and dynamism, and shared opportunities with the world through higher-standard opening up, including unilateral opening up. China has continued to contribute around 30 percent of world economic growth, higher than the G7 combined, and become a major propeller for global development in getting over the current predicament.

In the past year, China vigorously promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China signed cooperation programs and action plans with countries in South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Central Asia, and its non-financial direct investment in Belt and Road partner countries grew by over 20 percent year on year. The Tazara Railway revitalization strengthened this monument to China-Africa friendship, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway opened up new prospects for regional connectivity, and the China Railway Express achieved an accumulative total of more than 120,000 freight services between China and Europe. These golden routes for two-way cooperation have extended their reach at a faster pace.

In the past year, China took on the important mission of promoting global development. China hosted the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China International Consumer Products Expo, and China officially launched the island-wide special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port. China fully completed the negotiations of and signed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, continued to deliver on the ten partnership actions with Africa, carried out five programs with LAC countries, developed five cooperation frameworks with Arab states, built seven cooperation platforms and frameworks with Pacific Island countries, and successfully held the first ASEAN-China-GCC Summit. Closer development cooperation partnerships were forged with various parties.

In the past year, China overcame external disturbances and challenges and extended a helping hand to international partners in need. China applied zero tariff to all least developed countries and African countries having diplomatic relations with China, and announced that while keeping its developing country status, China would not seek new special and differential treatment in current and future negotiations at the WTO. Through these voluntary initiatives, China leaves a greater share of benefits to Global South countries, and lives up to its international responsibility.

In the past year, China opened its door wider by expanding the visa exemption country list. To date, a unilateral visa waiver has been extended to 48 countries and visa-free transit to 55. In the first three quarters of this year, more than 20 million visa-free entries were recorded, an increase of over 50 percent year-on-year. China has opened a new prospect for people-to-people exchanges with other countries. Interactions and connections between China and other parts of the world have deepened, and international understanding and goodwill toward China have grown stronger.