Anecdotes from China's major-country diplomacy: Growth in the Asia-Pacific, growth in the world

Editor's Note: China is rolling out a major documentary series on its diplomatic principles, practices and achievements over the past five years. The English-language version of the program is now also available on TV and online. To help viewers better understand Chinese diplomacy, Xinhua is releasing a variety of reports that include anecdotes, clips from major speeches, facts and figures.

BEIJING - The following is a number of anecdotes from the documentary series on Chinese President Xi Jinping's foreign visits over the past five years:

On Nov. 19, 2016, Xi delivered a keynote speech at the 2016 APEC CEO Summit in Lima during a five-day trip to Peru. He used a metaphor to inject much-needed confidence into the development of the Asia-Pacific economy.

"We all know that sweet potatoes are other varieties of potatoes that originated in Latin America. I once used sweet potatoes as an example to make a point to a group of Chinese business leaders."

"I said that the vines of a sweet potato may stretch in all directions,but they all grow out of its roots. Similarly, no matter what level of development it may reach, China, with its roots in the Asia-Pacific, will always contribute to its development and prosperity." he added.

At the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, China last year, Xi said that China's opening to the world is not a one-man show, rather, it's an invitation open to all.

"It is meant to build not only China's own garden, but a garden shared by all countries," Xi said.

"China will work with other parties to ensure that the Hangzhou Summit comes up with a prescription to address both symptoms and root causes so that the world economy could head down a path of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth."