In our lives, everyone has an ideal, ambition and dream, and these make our lives beautiful and encourage us to pursue a better future. The Chinese people are now talking about the Chinese Dream, which was first unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2012.
In my opinion, achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people since the advent of modern times. This dream embodies the long-cherished hope of several generations of the Chinese people, gives expression to their overall interests, and represents their shared aspirations. The Chinese dream is not limited to the Chinese people in isolation from the world. The Chinese leader has envisioned the further integration and in-depth co-operation of the global community as necessary conditions for achieving the Chinese dream in the modern era.
In the past years, President Xi Jinping has visited more than 30 countries covering five continents, stressing repeatedly through contact with local people that the Chinese dream 'will not only benefit the Chinese people but will also benefit people all over the world'.
The Chinese dream is also a dream for the Asia-Pacific region. China operates under several geopolitical identities. The Asia-Pacific region is particularly important for Chinese diplomacy. The Chinese economy, now the second largest in the world, accounts for one fourth of the Asian-Pacific economy and eight of China's top 10 trading partners are located in the region.
In November 2014, when President Xi addressed the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation CEO Summit in Beijing, he called on regional countries to jointly build a future-oriented Asia-Pacific partnership, saying, 'We are duty-bound to create and fulfil an Asia-Pacific dream for our people'. Xi's Asia-Pacific dream is not simply a matter of public diplomacy; rather, it is a systematic strategic project with regional economic integration as its platform. During the Beijing Apec meeting last November, Xi announced the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific road map, which has gained support from more than 20 countries.
China has already set up a $10 billion Silk Road Fund to promote infrastructure construction and industrial expansion in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. China has also championed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, providing half of the initial capital of $100 billion to boost regional development.
Currency diplomacy is another active field, as the Chinese yuan has now become the second most commonly used currency in foreign trade next to the US dollar. One third of China's bilateral currency swap agreements and two thirds of its free trade agreements were made with Asia-Pacific countries. As President Xi explained, the Chinese Dream and the Asia-Pacific Dream is to act in the spirit of the Asia-Pacific community out of a sense of shared destinies, following the trends of peace, development and mutually beneficial co-operation. It is about staying ahead of global development and making greater contributions to the well-being of mankind - a path to economic vibrancy, free trade and investment facilitation, better roads, and closer people-to-people exchanges.
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