2023 Meeting on Coordinated Development of Foreign Affairs in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region was held in Tianjin on April 21 to study and implement the guidelines from the 20th CPC National Congress and Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, as well as to deepen the coordinated development of foreign affairs in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with concrete actions. The meeting included the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and the guiding principles of President Xi’s speech at the work conference on learning and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; a review of the achievements of the mechanism for coordinated development of foreign affairs in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; and the adoption of the “11 things” for related work in 2023, followed by a discussion around future exchange and cooperation on foreign affairs among the three places. It was chaired by Luan Jianzhang, Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Tianjin Municipal People's Government; guided by Li Nianping, Director General of the Foreign Affairs Management Bureau of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Li Shijia, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs Coordination of International Department of Central Committee of CPC, and Wang Guoping, Counselor of the Department of Foreign Affairs Management of Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and attended by Xiong Jiuling, Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, Liu Yuan, Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hebei Province, Liang Yiming, Vice Governor of the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, among others.

According to the meeting, the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is a major national strategy that General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally planned, initiated, and promoted. After nine years of continuous efforts since its implementation, solid results have been accomplished. The meeting held in this context is of great significance. It symbolizes the detailed actions of how the foreign affairs offices in the three places gain deeper insights into the guiding principles from the 20th CPC National Congress, promote the integration of diplomatic resources and coordination of tasks, and thus better contribute to the country's major strategies and overall diplomacy. It also vividly illustrates the practice of promoting high-quality local socio-economic development and better telling the story of Chinese modernization from the perspective of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei foreign affairs coordination.

The meeting pointed out that in the past five years since the establishment of the joint meeting mechanism of director generals of foreign affairs offices in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province, the three foreign affairs offices have kept the big picture in mind, leveraged their strengths, worked with each other, and taken the initiative. On this basis, joint efforts have been exerted to explore ways to enhance cooperation among local foreign affairs offices in terms of scope, level, and effect, which has yielded numerous results in such areas as joint development of foreign affairs work, joint training of diplomatic officials, and joint response to imported Covid-19 cases. Standing at the new historical starting point, the foreign affairs departments of the three places should facilitate the major national strategy of coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with greater coordination in foreign affairs. In addition, concerted efforts and strong synergies should also be developed to better support the diplomatic endeavors of the Party and the country.

The meeting stressed the complicated international circumstances, the fast-evolving global landscape, and the arduous domestic reform and development tasks. Against this backdrop, the foreign affairs departments of the three places should adhere to political guidance, further learn and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, accurately grasp the goals and tasks for the new era and new journey, and promote Chinese modernization with enthusiasm and diligence. The above departments should adhere to the principle of coordinated opening up, think in big picture terms, embrace the concept of “community with a shared future”, and strive to foster a comprehensive working mechanism for foreign affairs for the three places under the framework of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development. Foreign affairs work should be advanced with a focus on economic growth. This requires the three places to further integrate resources, combine respective strengths, and transform and upgrade the foreign affairs coordination mechanism, so as to create new growth engines for building a world-class city cluster, and jointly contribute to the region’s high-quality development and high-level opening-up.

During the meeting, officials from the foreign affairs offices of the three places also delivered speeches and exchanged ideas on the topic of “learning the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches on ‘Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative’ and ensuring the coordinated development of foreign affairs in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province”.