By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held in Beijing on December 27-28. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the conference and delivered an important address. Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, and Vice President Han Zheng attended the conference.
Xi Jinping said It was pointed out at the conference that upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground in our external workis the natural requirement of making new headway in our major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics on the new journey, and of providing a strongerunderpinning for Chinese modernization. It is important to strengthen the intellectual and theoretical competence of the foreign service, deepen reform of systems and institutions, promote the building of a contingent of personnel involved in foreign affairs, and continue to make ourexternal work more science-based, forward-looking, proactive and innovative.
It was stressed at the conference that we must unswervingly uphold the CPC central leadership’s ultimate authority over foreign affairs, conscientiously uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and further strengthen the systems and institutions for the CPC’s leadership over external work. All localities and departments should keep in mind the big picture and coordinate with each other to implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee on our external work in both letter and spirit.
Wang Yi gave concluding remarks. Leading officials of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Commerce, the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission and Yunnan Province, and arepresentative from the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations gave presentations at the conference.
Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and members of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, leaders of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, State Councilors, President of the Supreme People’s Court, Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and leaders of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference attended the conference.
Members of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, major officials of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities separately listed in the state plan, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, of the relevant departments of central CPC and State institutions, relevant people’s organizations, relevant departments of the Central Military Commission, and of some financial institutions under the direct management of the Central Government, as well as Chinese ambassadors,ambassadorial-rank consuls general posted overseas and representatives to international organizations participated in the conference.
