The view of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line constructed by a Chinese company in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: VCG

As year 2025 draws to a close amid global turbulence, China's diplomacy has sent a clear signal: its neighborhood has become an anchor of its foreign policy. From intensive head-of-state diplomacy and multilateral summits to crisis mediation and economic cooperation, Beijing has prioritized stability, development and partnership with surrounding countries - positioning itself as both a driver of regional prosperity and a stabilizing force at a time when protectionism and geopolitical uncertainty are plaguing the world.

At a central conference on work related to neighboring countries in April this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries and striving to open new ground for China's neighborhood work, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

From Southeast Asian visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia in April, the state visit to Russia in May, and the China-Central Asia Summit in June to the APEC meeting in South Korea in late October and early November, it is evident that this year, neighboring countries were among priorities of Chinese leader. 

The Global Times Annual Conference 2026 was held in Beijing on December 20, under the theme "Trust in China: New Journey, New Opportunities." During the discussion on the topic "A symbiotic country: new explorations in how major countries interact with their neighbors", Zhao Xiaozhuo, former director of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Secretariat, said that the Asia-Pacific region has seen a marked rise in its global standing, a development closely linked to China. China has not only pursued its own development but has also driven the growth of neighboring countries.

Zhao noted that the importance of the Asia-Pacific region is reflected in multiple dimensions, including security, strategy, the economy and science and technology. 



Neighborhood diplomacy 

On September 3, the world's attention was fixed on China as the country staged a massive military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Foreign leaders from most neighboring countries, including Russia, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Maldives and Myanmar, attended the commemorations, according to Xinhua.  

China's gradual growing emphasis on neighborhood diplomacy has also caught the attention of foreign media. The Diplomat took note of Southeast Asian nations leaders' participation in China's V-Day commemorations, saying that "their attendance underscored a deeper reality: China's neighborhood diplomacy has reached an inflection point, one where Southeast Asia is no longer peripheral but central to Beijing's regional strategy."

At the Global Times Annual Conference 2026, Hu Shisheng, Deputy Secretary-General of Academic Committee at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, offered a summary of China's diplomacy toward South Asia over the past year. First, China adhered to the overarching principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness; second, it pursued coordinated development and security through a "dual-engine drive"; third, it promoted three parallel goals to foster an amicable, prosperous and secure neighborhood and contribute to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

In October, China and ASEAN officially signed the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, marking a major step forward in regional economic integration. The signing took place during the 47th ASEAN Summit held in Malaysia, per Xinhua.

In 2024, China's trade with Central Asia reached a record $94.8 billion, fueled in part by a booming cross-border e-commerce sector. China now stands as Central Asia's top trading partner and major investment source, Xinhua reported.

A reliable partner

Neighboring countries are increasingly recognizing China as a central engine of regional prosperity. Despite global economic volatility and the disruption caused by US tariff policies, the Asia-Pacific has proved relatively resilient, emerging as an "development oasis" amid wider turbulence, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times, saying that it reflects China's stable growth and its sustained commitment to openness and cooperation.

He adds that China is also playing a more constructive role in easing regional tensions and managing crises, a shift that is steadily improving perceptions of the countries across the Asia-Pacific - particularly in the realm of security.

When two of China's neighbors, Cambodia and Thailand became mired in a border clash, foreign ministers from both countries called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on December 18 and briefed him on the latest developments regarding the conflict along the Cambodia-Thailand border and expressed their willingness to de-escalate tensions and bring about a ceasefire.  

In late April and May, as tensions flared between Pakistan and India, Wang Yi had phone call with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, urging both sides to restraint.

At the same time, neighboring countries have lent support to China's legitimate calls for fairness and justice. 

Due to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan in the Diet on November 7 and refusal to retract them, bilateral relations have deteriorated in recent weeks.

In November, Laos' Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to the one-China principle.

The ministry emphasized that a core purpose of the United Nations is to uphold the post-World War II international order. On this occasion, Laos reaffirmed its longstanding position by firmly supporting UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, upholding the one-China principle, recognizing Taiwan as an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China, and opposing any interference in China's internal affairs. 

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto also said earlier this month that Indonesia reaffirms its commitment to the one-China principle and that Taiwan is part of China, per Xinhua. 

A dual approach of cooperation and firmness has become a defining feature of China's neighborhood diplomacy, said Li.

He noted when certain neighboring countries act in ways that undermine, or seek to erode, China's core interests, only by resolutely safeguarding its sovereignty, security and right to development, can China engage its neighbors on a basis of mutual respect and foster a healthy, constructive dynamic in building a community with a shared future in the region.