Belt and Road to the fore

May: The first "Belt and Road Summit" (the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation), held in Beijing, was the diplomatic highlight of the year in China. Some 130 countries participated, including 29 heads of state and government. The goal was no less than the transformation of the economic structure of the developing world: building infrastructure and connectivity, stimulating development, alleviating poverty, reducing severe imbalances, promoting South-South cooperation, and revitalizing globalization.

Xi called the Belt and Road Initiative "the project of the century".

July: China celebrated the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. It was a time of reflection for the cosmopolitan city, long a global leader in economic freedom and competitiveness. Hong Kong had flourished: its way of life preserved, its economy dynamic. But times change. With Shanghai and Shenzhen on the rise, and with some claiming the "one country, two systems" principle is in decline, Hong Kong faces new challenges.

August: The People's Liberation Army celebrated its 90th anniversary. In a move both practical and symbolic, the PLA established its first overseas logistics base in Djibouti, situated strategically on the Horn of Africa.

Xi Jinping, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the PLA is becoming "strong" informationized armed forces. "The Chinese people love peace," Xi said. "We will never seek aggression or expansion, but… No one should expect us to swallow the bitter fruit that is harmful to our sovereignty, security or development interests".

Foreigners are wondering: what is the PLA's long-term plan for operating overseas? What will be the impact of the PLA's modernization and reform, especially its burgeoning blue-water navy with multiple aircraft carriers?

August: China hosted the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province. The five BRICS countries－Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa－have increasing influence on global economy and politics, but does BRICS as an organization make sense? China certainly thinks so, and promoted the BRICS Summit as representing a new kind of multilateral global governance. There are complexities: political instabilities in Brazil and South Africa; the growing, comprehensive cooperation between Russia and China; the sensitive, multifaceted relationship between India and China.

Throughout the year, events on the Korean Peninsula continued to intrude. While China continued to call for denuclearization and dialogue, just hours before Xi gave the opening speech at the BRICS Summit, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea detonated its most powerful nuclear bomb ever.