This photo taken on Oct. 16, 2022 shows flags on the Tian'anmen Square and atop the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

China is bringing at least three forms of "certainty" to the world: certainty for peace, certainty for cooperation and certainty for progress. This consistent sense of certainty reflects China's steadfast strategic choice, rooted in its history and culture, its development experience and its assessment of humanity's shared future and destiny.


Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Central Asia and Africa has captured global attention. Among the myriad commentaries from Chinese and foreign media outlets and international observers, one recurring keyword stands out: "certainty." When international public opinion has grown increasingly accustomed to using expressions like "turbulent," "fragmented," and "disorder" to describe the current global landscape, Chinese diplomacy presents an entirely different and distinctive character: steady pace, clear direction, and swift action, injecting much-needed certainty into the world. Aptly, some have dubbed this "diplomacy of certainty."

Head-of-state diplomacy is the anchor of China's diplomacy. From the dense succession of visits to China by multiple foreign leaders at the beginning of the year, to the successive visits to China in May by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin; from President Xi's visit to North Korea in June, to his attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek and the state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt; and from the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting to the G20 Leaders' Summit, China's diplomatic agenda is full of highlights. Having evolved into a vital hub of global diplomacy, China is walking the talk to continuously provide stability and certainty to a turbulent world by promoting solidarity and cooperation, sharing development opportunities, and upholding fairness and justice.

China's "diplomacy of certainty" does not seek to eradicate all contradictions and divergences in the world. Rather, it aims to consistently provide a steady direction forward, open channels of communication, a predictable environment for cooperation, and responsible actions of a major country, amid a highly uncertain international environment. Behind this lies the predictability of China's own development path and diplomatic strategy, alongside its strategic resolve to safeguard the overarching trends of world peace, development, and cooperation. China always stands on the right side of history, steadfastly pursuing a path of open development and win-win cooperation.

This May marked a concentrated manifestation of this "certainty." President Trump paid a state visit to China, during which the two sides agreed on a new vision of building "a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability," providing strategic guidance for bilateral ties over the next three years and beyond. Less than a week later, President Putin paid a state visit to China, where the Chinese and Russian leaders held in-depth, friendly, and fruitful talks, propelling bilateral relations into a new stage of greater achievements and faster development.

This sends a clear signal: China will neither close the door to communication and dialogue just because of the US' containment and suppression, nor will it restrict its diplomatic space to a single direction simply because of its high degree of strategic mutual trust with Russia. For China, the core of major-country diplomacy lies in responsibility and commitment - a major power must truly act like one. In other words, this "certainty" stems first and foremost from the independence of China's diplomacy. While international relations are complex and full of changes, the direction of China's diplomacy remains unwavering, and China always stands as the most steadfast force in upholding peace, promoting development, and fostering prosperity.

If Beijing in May demonstrated China's role as a "stabilizer" in relations among major powers, President Xi's attendance at the SCO summit, along with his state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, further demonstrated how this "certainty" is extending to the Global South. In Bishkek, the Chinese leader once again spoke of "an equal and orderly multipolar world," emphasizing that we should ensure equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules for all countries, regardless of their size, strength and wealth. 

In Cairo, China translated this vision into its bilateral relations with countries of the Global South. Over the 70 years since China and Egypt established diplomatic relations, cooperation between the two countries has weathered profound changes in the international environment while maintaining continuity and stability. This is another dimension of "diplomacy of certainty": China adheres to its own path of development, while also respecting different civilizations, political systems and development paths. It seeks areas for cooperation while pursuing common ground and setting aside differences.

Looking ahead to the future, China's "diplomacy of certainty" promises to become even more dynamic. From November 18 to 19, the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen. More than 300 meetings and events have already been held as part of APEC China Year, under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," with openness, innovation and cooperation identified as the three priority areas. This means that China's most important home-court diplomatic event this year will encompass forward-looking and pressing issues ranging from trade and the digital economy to artificial intelligence, energy and food. By promoting deeper institutional cooperation among regional economies, China will seek to continue translating political consensus into public goods that benefit regional cooperation.

It is therefore clear that China is bringing at least three forms of "certainty" to the world: certainty for peace, certainty for cooperation and certainty for progress. This consistent sense of certainty reflects China's steadfast strategic choice, rooted in its history and culture, its development experience and its assessment of humanity's shared future and destiny. As more and more countries worry that the world is drifting toward disorder and chaos, China is charting a clear course through the storm: upholding peace as a bottom line, resolving differences through development actions, and improving global governance through a shared commitment to cooperation. This is why China's "diplomacy of certainty" is so welcomed and anticipated by the world.