BEIJING - China, while maintaining robust economic growth, has continued its march forward in 2010 and actively participated in international affairs.

China has stepped up its presence on the world stage by carrying out a series of diplomatic activities, sending representatives to major international meetings, and making contributions to solving international and regional problems.

Over the past year, China has continued to attach great importance to its relations with other countries and made great efforts to promote them.

China-US ties generally have moved forward despite occasional setbacks, and the two countries have devoted themselves to building a positive, cooperative and comprehensive partnership for the 21st century.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama met in April, June and November, respectively in Washington, Toronto and Seoul. The meetings have effectively boosted ties between China, the world's biggest developing country, and the United States, the world's largest developed one.

China has adhered to a friendly policy toward neighboring countries, and strengthened exchanges and cooperation with them in political, economic, security and cultural fields.

During a visit to India in December, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the rapid economic growth of both countries serves as an important engine for world economic growth, and China-India trade cooperation, based on mutual benefit, has a bright future.

Chinese leaders also conducted a series of visits to countries in Africa, South America and Europe to consolidate ties.

Chinese leaders have also actively participated in regional and international meetings both to expound China's stance on various issues and make contributions.

Hu attended the second formal summit of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in Brasilia in April.

He said no matter how the international situation may evolve and what changes the international system may undergo, the BRIC nations should be firmly committed to the goal of mutual benefit, adhere to the principles of democracy, equality, and mutual respect and uphold the spirit of solidarity and cooperation.

The Chinese president's words were hailed by the other BRIC countries' leaders.

Hu also spoke at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Toronto in June. "We should not neglect the development aspirations of other developing countries, which take up over 85 percent of countries in the world," he said.

He said it is "imperative and incumbent" for the G20 to help developing countries achieve their full potential and narrow the development gap between the North and the South.

Wen, at the eighth Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels in October, said: "We must seize the opportunities, keep up with the times, and take solid steps to advance Asia-Europe cooperation from a strategic and long-term perspective."

"On the way toward global economic recovery, we must continue to help each other and move forward hand-in-hand," he said.

China's increasing presence on the international stage reflects its concern and justified demand, and is also in the interest of developing countries and the world community.

Wen, at the UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September, said: "It's more helpful to give a loaf of bread than a rubber check."

China has not only become a more active force on the international stage - it also takes concrete actions to help other countries weather the global financial crisis and promote world peace and stability.

Since the financial crisis broke out in 2008, China has injected a total sum of 50 billion US dollars into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and demanded the funds should preferentially be allocated to the least developed countries.

China inked mutual monetary exchange agreements worth 650 billion yuan (some 98 billion dollars) with some countries and regions to help them tide over the financial crisis.

Moreover, China has given a credit of 15 billion, 10 billion and 10 billion dollars respectively to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and African countries.

To meet its responsibility to fight climate change, China made the commitment to reduce carbon emissions per GDP unit by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 from the 2005 level.

Regarding securing regional peace, China has dispatched naval fleets to the Gulf of Aden to fight rampant piracy. By this December, Chinese fleets have provided shelter for over 3,000 domestic or foreign merchant vessels, 40 percent of which are non-Chinese ones.

Also, China has all along advocated the peaceful settlement of nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula and in Iran, and made great efforts toward that end.

All in all, China, through its responsible words and deeds over the past year, has continued to make impressive progress on its way to modernization and contributed significantly to world peace, stability and development.