Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the Chinese Foreign Ministry's 2026 New Year reception in Beijing on Thursday.

Nearly 500 people attended the event, including diplomatic envoys from various countries, representatives of international organizations in China, and representatives of Chinese government departments.

Addressing the reception, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that 2025 marked the 80th founding anniversary of the United Nations. Despite headwinds in international relations, China has remained committed to the right path in its diplomacy over the past year, he added.

In particular, the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China has lit the way forward for the world during a critical time of evolution in the international order, Wang said.

He noted that no matter how the world has evolved, China's position of safeguarding international fairness and justice has remained steadfast, and its commitment to building a community with a shared future for humanity has not wavered.

Entering the new year, the world is becoming even more volatile and unstable, and peace and development face serious challenges, Wang said. China stands ready to work with all forces for progress across the globe -- bearing in mind the future of humanity and the well-being of all people -- to open up an even brighter future, he added. He called for efforts to uphold peace and the rule of law, promote openness and development, tackle crises and challenges, and deepen understanding and friendship.

Martin Mpana, dean of the foreign diplomatic corps in China and Cameroon's ambassador to China, sent best wishes to the Chinese people for a happy New Year on behalf of the corps.

He spoke highly of China's diplomatic achievements in 2025, and of the Global Governance Initiative in particular, describing it as crucial to global peace and development.

Countries around the world are willing to work with China to promote mutual understanding, deepen friendship and strengthen cooperation, aiming to safeguard international fairness and promote common prosperity, Mpana said.

Other members of the diplomatic community expressed confidence in China and expectations of continued engagement with Beijing in 2026.

"I had the pleasure and honor last year, in 2025, to have the visit of my Minister of Foreign Affairs to China, but also my Prime Minister. China has a fundamental role to play nowadays in the world, being it bilaterally in its relationship with different countries or different regions, being it in the multilateral plane. It's nothing more than natural that we will see this trend of international leaders coming to China," said Paulo Jorge Nascimento, Portugal's ambassador to China.

"The Year of the Horse is a very auspicious moment for 2026. It's the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. It's the start of the new UN cooperation framework with China. Our hope is to see progress of China, with strength, with energy, with enthusiasm and people living a prosperous and a healthy life," said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China.

"2026, being the Year of the Horse, is an encouraging year. A horse is strong, steady, and horses in this part of the world have a lot of stamina, and I think that's what we need going into 2026. I'm hopeful 2026 will be a harbinger of great things to come in the future," said David Perdue, U.S. ambassador to China.