A soft touch in Chinese diplomacy

China's new leadership has demonstrably been following a new pattern of diplomacy that features increasing soft elements and a down-to-earth manner.[Special coverage]

President Xi Jinping's just-concluded trip to Australia serves as a good example.

During the significant and fruitful state visit, the two Asia-Pacific giants lifted their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and concluded their nine-year-long bilateral free trade talks.

But that was not all to it.

Apart from all the formal meetings and talks, the Chinese president arranged a special trip to southeastern Australia's Tasmania state to visit a group of primary school students who had sent him a letter hand-written in Chinese.

When addressing the Australian parliament in Canberra prior to his Tasmania tour, Xi told the lawmakers that those students described in their letter the state's unique products and beautiful scenery. "Their words have filled me with curiosity," he said.

In a letter of reply, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, said they looked forward to visiting the scenic sites the Tasmania students mentioned and hoped to make more Australian friends.

"We welcome you to travel and study in China. Please convey our sincere greetings and best regards to your parents and teachers," they wrote.

When arriving in Tasmania, Xi and Peng were warmly greeted by a cheering crowd of students, who presented them with a teddy bear, a book and a local culinary specialty as gifts.

Together with the children, the Chinese president planted a tree as a token of China-Australia friendship and encouraged them to study the Chinese language, history and culture.

"One of the main purposes of my being here is to see you. Please keep on writing to me. I'd like to share your good news," he said.

In Tasmania, the Chinese leader also visited the family of late Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon, an old friend of his.

Xi recalled Bacon's trip to China in 2001, when he was governor of China's southern province of Fujian, which has a sister state relationship with Tasmania.

"Bacon invited me to visit Tasmania then and I agreed. I came here today to fulfill my commitment to him," he said, praising Bacon as an old friend of the Chinese people who contributed to the relations between China and Tasmania as well as Australia.

The president also commended the Bacon family's commitment to promoting the friendly exchanges and cooperation with China and invited them to visit China.

Bacon's widow, Honey, said her husband had profound feelings toward China and Fujian during his lifetime and had wished to receive Xi in his hometown. She thanked the Chinese president for taking the time to meet them, which fulfilled a long-cherished wish of Bacon.

Honey, who is a member of the Australia-China Friendship Association, said the Bacon family has inherited the traditional friendship with China. Her eldest son, Mark Bacon, a business consultant, said he would be actively involved in the economic and trade cooperation with China.

The Bacon family showed Xi the photos of Bacon's visits to China. Honey offered Xi as a gift an oil painting of hers that depicts Tasmania's natural scenery.

Peng, who frequently accompanies Xi in his overseas trips, has also been in the spotlight for her efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges and forge cultural bonds.

In New South Wales, the former Chinese folk singer visited a local girls school, where she was welcomed with a dragon dance by Australian students dressed in traditional Chinese costume.

In a Confucius Classroom of the school, she encouraged the students to study the Chinese language well so as to better understand Chinese history and culture and carry forward the China-Australia friendship.

Just as an old Chinese saying goes, a sound relationship between two countries relies on the affinity between their peoples. By adding a soft touch to its diplomacy, the new Chinese leadership is showing the world the importance it attaches to foreign relations as well as its firm commitment to peaceful development.