A trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes and across the oceans, something almost unimaginable only two an half years ago is now tantalizingly close to realization.
So far, more than 60 countries and international organizations have expressed interest in active involvement in this grand vision, and a number of major cooperative projects are underway.
Formally established last month, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is another concrete manifestation of Xi's vision of connectivity across Asia.
It took just two years for the bank to develop from an embryonic idea to a fully-fledged body of 57 nations tasked with financing infrastructure across the continent.
CHINESE SOLUTION -- CHINESE WISDOM
According to Xi, China's role in the world geopolitical landscape is to actively improve the international development system, not to merely participate in and benefit from it.
While pursuing its own development, China has demonstrated its sense of responsibility as a big country.
"We do this not because we are asked by others, but because we want to do this ourselves," Xi said last year at the Paris conference on climate change, leaving no one in any doubt as to his determination to push green development and emission reduction to the top of the global agenda.
Responsibility, cooperation, connectivity: In a world struggling for economic recovery, Xi has offered a Chinese solution to global governance reform.
The 2014 APEC Beijing meetings, themed "Shaping the Future Through Asia-Pacific Partnership," saw members agree on a strategic study of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), marking the official launch of the FTAAP process.
By pledging 20 billion yuan (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) to help other developing countries cope with climate change, China, itself a developing country under poverty-relief pressure, has set an example for the world.
At summits marking the 70th anniversary of the UN, Xi announced a 10-year, 1-billion-U.S.-dollar peace and development fund to support UN work and create a standby peacekeeping force of 8,000 troops.
China also promised 50 million U.S. dollars to the AIIB to support preparation for infrastructure development projects in less developed member states.
As 2016 begins, China is at a new starting line in its race toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As China pursues a new-type international relations featuring cooperation and win-win results, the world will continue to benefit.
