China is the world's largest developing country. Consolidating and developing cooperation with other developing countries is a cornerstone of China’s foreign policy. In 2005, China continued to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries, attach great importance to the fundamental role of such cooperative relations, and to construct a new type of partnership featuring long-term stability, equality, mutual benefit and all-round cooperation. At the same time, China also continued to strengthen collective dialogue and cooperation with developing countries. It kept on pushing forward its cooperation with African and Arab countries within the frameworks of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and deepening its ties with Latin-American organizations.

In 2005, Chinese leaders paid visits to over 40 Asian, African and Arab countries, and established strategic partnerships with some. At the UN Summit in September, President Hu Jintao, on behalf of the Chinese government, announced five measures for helping other developing countries, especially African nations, towards faster development. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami and South Asian earthquake, the Chinese government and Chinese people implemented their biggest overseas assistance to date, demonstrating the Chinese people's firm faith in and solidarity with the victims of the disasters. 

There were many visits by heads of state and government leaders during the course of the year, representing Mauritius, Malaysia, Colombia, Guyana, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cambodia and Namibia.