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On December 27 and 28, 2023, the Communist Party of China held the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. This was the sixth such meeting – the first one was held way back in 1971. This Foreign Affairs Work Conference was the third held under Xi Jinping’s leadership, with earlier meetings held in 2014 and 2018.

Xi delivered a major speech at the Work Conference, which marks the most comprehensive expression yet of his more activist approach to PRC diplomacy. The speech provides valuable insights into Xi’s assessment of the global balance of power, his vision of the international order, and his views of the role of Chinese diplomacy.

Host Bonnie Glaser is joined by Neil Thomas, a Fellow for Chinese Politics at Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, where he studies elite politics, political economy, and foreign policy. Previously, he was a Senior Analyst for China and Northeast Asia at Eurasia Group. 

Timestamps

[01:32] Historical Significance of Foreign Affairs Work Conference

[07:09] Xi’s Key Messages from the Conference in December

[11:10] Xi’s Concept of the Community of Common Destiny

[15:26] Major Country Diplomacy in Chinese Foreign Policy

[20:03] China’s Diplomacy Going Forward

[23:07] Xi’s Speech to Chinese Ambassadors

Just as there was nothing inevitable about WW1 which came about because of flawed decisions by political and military leaders, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd worries that mutual non-comprehension and deep suspicion may lead the US and China into war. He believes that an armed conflict between China and the US is a real possibility. The Chinese Communist Party would see itself as fighting for its very survival in a war and a conventional war could easily escalate into one involving weapons of mass destruction, if Chinese forces begin to lose.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has studied and lived in China and has worked with China’s leaders, including Xi Jinping, for decades. His new book is The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping’s China.