One week after his election Xi Jinping set off for his first overseas trip as Chinese President， during which he visited Russia， Tanzania， South Africa and the Republic of Congo. Back in China he attended the Boao Forum for Asia （BFA）， expounding Chinas diplomatic principles and philosophy on its relationship with other big countries， its neighbors and the developing world.

These activities demonstrated the new leaderships goodwill and commitment to safeguarding regional and world peace and realizing shared global development.

A new presidents visit to Russia in his maiden trip is a well-established practice， which highlights the significance the two nations attach to the comprehensive strategic partnership between them. During the March visit Xi and Putin signed a joint statement on deepening this cooperative partnership. It laid out the priorities of future bilateral cooperation and called for a fresh approach to relations between major international powers.

Whats more， China and Russia signed 32 cooperation agreements， dubbed the “contracts of the century” because of their enormous value and the fact they cover a long period of time. These included cooperation at all levels of the energy sector involving industries such as oil and gas， nuclear energy， coal， and new energy. The two countries also planned to cooperate on major strategic projects， to boost joint research and development and production， and to expand the trade structure from energy and resources to a diverse portfolio composed of manufacturing， high technology and aerospace. In recent high-level exchanges， the leaders of both countries have emphasized that each regard the development of the other as a strategic opportunity for their own countries that contributes to the construction of a mature， healthy and equal relationship.

In his meeting with African leaders Xi pointed out that China and Africa are linked together by a common destiny. No matter how the international situation changes， China will firmly adhere to the policy of friendship with Africa， be a reliable friend and sincere partner of African countries， and strive to make greater contributions to peace and develop- ment in Africa. Together they are making efforts to realize both the “Chinese Dream” and “African Dream.” “The development of China-Africa ties can only be in the present continuous tense， and never in the present perfect tense，” he said.

As Chinese economic growth slows down and that in Africa accelerates， their mutually dependent relationship is undergoing subtle changes. Hence rises the need for upgrading Chinese projects in Africa， which were formerly small in scale and at the lower end of production， and were sometimes rivals with local businesses.

Furthermore， the BRICS group has added a new dimension to Chinas economic ties with African countries. The cooperation between China and emerging economies like Russia， India， Brazil and South Africa has hoisted its relationship with the African continent to a higher level.

Xi attended a BRICS summit during his visit to South Africa. There he called for the establishment of a global development partnership among the five major emerging economies， to coordinate their macroeconomic policies and jointly participate in setting the international development agenda. One fruit of the summit is that agreements were reached to set up a BRICS development bank and a Contingent Reserve Arrangement （CRA）， which should further boost China-Africa cooperation.

Shortly after his foreign visit， Xi traveled to Hainan Province for the BFA， discussing peace and development in Asia and beyond with international politicians， scholars and entrepreneurs. With the theme “Asia Seeking Development for All： Restructuring， Responsibility and Cooperation，” the forum aimed to build consensus on common development focusing on peace， stability and cooperation in the context of a world undergoing profound changes.

In modern times the world has become a community with shared destinies. Chinas development cannot be separated from that of Asia as a whole and indeed the world， just as the worlds development cannot be separated from that of China.