Leaders' visits give ties fresh momentum

In the new year, leaders of nations in Asia, Europe and North America have traveled to China to discuss reinforcing bilateral ties and expanding pragmatic cooperation, and countries such as Finland have confirmed or planned visits to China by their leaders in the near future.

Observers said one major reason behind the visits is that Beijing projects great predictability and consistency in its domestic and foreign policy, signaling tangible and continued mutual benefit in a world plagued by soaring geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and hegemony.

The next guest will be Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who is scheduled to make a four-day official visit to China starting on Sunday.

The first head of state and the first foreign minister that Beijing received in 2026 both came from neighboring countries — Republic of Korea President Lee Jae-myung and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

After President Xi Jinping's meeting with Lee on Jan 5, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation documents covering fields including scientific and technological innovation, the environment, transportation and trade.

The official visit by Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, from Jan 4-8, was the first by an Irish prime minister in 14 years, giving fresh momentum to both bilateral and China-EU ties.

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made an official visit to China, and the two sides issued a joint statement of the China-Canada leaders' meeting, vowing to advance outcomes in areas including trade, energy, public security, culture and multilateralism.

As reported by the Canadian newspaper Toronto Sun, Melanie Joly, Canada's industry minister, told reporters in Beijing that "the conversations here have been more predictable and stable than sometimes with other countries, including our neighbor".

Recently, media outlets in Britain and Germany have reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz may visit China later this year.

The visits to China have helped nations, and will help more countries, improve their perception of China and rediscover the vast potential of the Chinese market, experts said.

Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong told a symposium on Monday that this year marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period and that China "will further step up its high-level opening-up".

Wang Huiyao, president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, said the visits to China took place as unilateral bullying practices "have sparked widespread concern in the international community", and "the momentum of unilateralism is on the rise in transatlantic relations".

Taking Canada as an example, Wang said the rebound in China-Canada relations "is both a testament to the strategic wisdom of both sides and a natural choice that aligns with public opinion and market realities".

Gao Fei, president of China Foreign Affairs University, said countries clearly know who are serving as stabilizers in this volatile world, and "China is the most predictable one among the major countries".

As many countries speak positively of China's role in peace, stability and growth, some of their leaders visited in the new year to learn more about China's wisdom and solutions, he added.

As part of efforts by working teams from China and these countries to realize the leaders' fresh consensus, Chinese and ROK officials on Monday kicked off the 13th round of follow-up negotiations on services and investment under the China-ROK Free Trade Agreement.

Wang Junsheng, a researcher on Northeast Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Institute of International Strategy, noted that as the global economy remains sluggish and trade protectionism prevails, countries such as the ROK are grappling with challenges like tariff wars.

"In this context, maintaining stable economic and trade cooperation with China is crucial for the ROK's economic growth," Wang said.

"The global industrial supply chain is being disrupted by trade protectionism, so stable cooperation between the ROK and China in supply chain-related sectors is also of the utmost importance," he added.