中文
By Anthony Moretti
Lead: In a world of political dysfunction and empty rhetoric, China's "two sessions" offer something increasingly rare: governance that is serious, substantive and focused on results.
The world is turbulent, and the leadership required to steady it must be sober and serious. That was the message from China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who added that such leadership must also ensure the global economic pie gets bigger — and is shared more equally across the world.
The foreign minister's remarks, made on Sunday morning (Beijing time), at a press conference on the sidelines of China's annual political gatherings called the "two sessions", which are the most important domestic political event in China each year.
Wang noted that China's proposal is to build an equal and orderly multipolar world as it consistently commits itself to meeting with political leaders from nations big and small interested in fostering peace around the world.
Of course, with the United States and Israel having unleashed another war in the Middle East in recent days, China's relations with Washington are critical when one considers global peace. The foreign minister said that the bilateral relationship is one of far-reaching and global implications.
"Neither side can remodel the other," he said, but both can and should advance win-win cooperation. The recent "good interactions" between the countries' presidents offer hope for what might happen in the future, he added. Future meetings between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump will offer a great chance to "produce results satisfactory to both peoples" and make 2026 a landmark year of sound, steady and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
He added that China has no interest in overthrowing the global order, an empty claim often made by the West whenever it expresses its disdain for some act undertaken by China.
"There are more than 190 countries" across the globe, the foreign minister said, and "multipolarity is what the international landscape should look like." He reiterated that any assertions that China seeks a hegemonic foreign policy are false. An "equal and orderly multipolar world" is what China wants, and these are words that leaders of certain countries should keep in mind.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, on Nov 29, in New York. The meeting was initiated by China, which was the rotating president of the council in November 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
There is a valid comparison to the foreign minister's words regarding fostering peace and benefiting all people when one considers the "two sessions" gathering. China's whole-process people's democracy takes center stage during the country's annual "two sessions." What unfolds carries enormous weight inside and outside China, guaranteeing that policy decisions will be reported by media near and far. A commitment to ensuring a healthier population was one of the first items under the microscope this year, with one news agency noting that Chinese officials recognize that artificial intelligence has incredible potential in these complex areas. Conversations surrounding the nation's environmental code, expanding maternity insurance and promoting ethnic unity are among the other issues on the table.
Of course, the launch of the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan will be on everyone's minds. Efforts to strengthen education and increase the life expectancy of the people embedded in that plan should also generate attention during the "two sessions."
Meanwhile, whole-process people's democracy provides clear evidence of a bottom-up legislative effort. It supports the idea of citizens not only participating in government but also acting as its key evaluators. Voices from every corner of China are essential in determining how well the national government is performing — something President Xi has often recognized as vital to China's success.
Thus, whole-process people's democracy shapes the "two sessions" agenda by keeping the national government accountable to those it serves.
Sure, the annual gatherings of the leading political parties in the U.K. and equivalent political events in the U.S. generate headlines. But consider how often those headlines focus on intra-party factions seeking to score political points, or on speakers who rally their audiences with white-hot rhetoric. In other words, negativity, divisiveness and anger are what domestic and international news consumers have come to accept as central to the West's democratic experience.
One will not find negativity, divisiveness or anger throughout the "two sessions." Rather, serious discourse about the domestic situation across all corners of China takes precedence.
This photo taken on Dec. 18, 2023 shows the capped D01 residential building of the Alamein Downtown Towers Project in New Alamein City, Egypt. The project is a cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative. [Photo by Sui Xiankai/Xinhua]
That same approach characterized Foreign Minister Wang's conversations with the media. He reminded journalists from multiple nations that China's Global Governance Initiative (GGI) exists at a pivotal moment because it aligns with some of the United Nations' most important goals. The foreign minister noted that the GGI "meets the common expectations of the global community" and helps guarantee that the U.N. retains the respect it must have. "Without the U.N., the world would only be worse," he said.
The same could be said of the Global South. The foreign minister discussed "the great transformation" unfolding across the Global South, as it "becomes a key driver of multipolarity in the world" and steadily increases its share of international GDP growth. Wang rightly noted that continued open communication will advance the needs of each of the countries that make up the Global South.
The serious manner in which Foreign Minister Wang reviewed the global situation matches the gravity of the deliberations of "two sessions." Accomplishment, not self-promotion, will be critical. Achievement, not empty hyperbole, will be expected. Affirmation of the continued advancement of China, not hollow promises, will be essential.
Optics matter. Over the past few years there has been plenty of evidence that the frenzied and often reckless decisions made by certain countries do nothing but generate loud headlines and polarized populations. On the other hand, whether advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, promoting the U.N. as a force for good, or making choices that strengthen the Chinese people, China does the hard work required to earn respect on both the domestic and global stage.
Anthony Moretti is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Robert Morris University.
