Chinese leaders make full use of multilateral occasions to expand relations with other leaders. President Hu Jintao met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tashkent, and had a conversation with US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi respectively at the 12th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Santiago, capital of Chile.

    The expansion of economic cooperation and trade has become another characteristic of China's diplomacy. President Hu Jintao visited four Latin American countries in November, during which China signed a series of cooperative agreements with Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Chile in the fields of economy and trade, tourism, transportation, resources, aviation and space.

    During the Eighth China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders' meeting in Laos, the two sides signed an agreement on trade in goods, and the Agreement on Dispute Settlement Mechanism, which marked the kickoff of the China-ASEAN free trade area construction.

    Those European entrepreneurs accompanying Putin, Chirac, Schroeder and Ciampi on their China visit signed contracts involving billions of euros with their Chinese counterparts. "It's a new record," said French newspaper Le Figaro.

    During Putin's visit to China, the two countries decided to treble their trade volume by 2010, and China announced its plan to invest 12 billion US dollars in Russia in the next 15 years.

    The peaceful development of China, a country with one fifth of the world's population, will surely bring important opportunities to many countries in the world, said Hu Jintao.

    As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China also plays an active part in multilateral activities. In February and June, the second and third rounds of six-party talks on Korean Peninsula nuclear issues were held in Beijing, with first document issued since the start of the talks.

    The six-party talks in China have become the most effective multilateral mechanism in solving Korean Peninsula nuclear issues, and have played an important role in safeguarding regional peace and stability, experts say.

    Thanks to joint efforts by China and other SCO members, the SCO Beijing Secretariat and the Tashkent regional anti-terrorism center were established respectively in January and June.

    During the fifth summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi, China and France jointly put forward a declaration on dialogues among countries with different cultures and civilizations, which was widely welcome at the meeting.

    Fifty years ago, China, India and Myanmar first put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. This year China marked the anniversary ceremoniously. Experts here believe China will continue its independent foreign policy of peace as before to contribute to the establishment of a new just and reasonable world order of politics and economy. Enditem