Stability, development and prosperity: that was the message from President Xi Jinping as China's 2023 Two Sessions came to an end. 

The emphasis throughout the political meetings was very much on common prosperity, peaceful development and especially modernization. 

So in the special 45-minute show New Journey, CGTN examines China's future – from the focus on high-quality growth to enhancing its global diplomatic and peace-making efforts – and considers what impact this will have on the rest of the world.

The host Juliet Mann is joined by Danilo Turk – the former President of Slovenia and now chair of the Club de Madrid, the world's largest forum of former heads of state and government – and an array of former diplomats and global experts to share their insight into the future of a truly modern China.

In an exclusive conversation, Turk tells CGTN why he believes that common prosperity for all will be the key to China's development, and why he sees China maintaining its role as the factory of the world – but perhaps not exactly the same kind of factory it has been for the last two decades. He goes on to tell the world that it needs to adjust its view of China and abandon any form of Cold War thinking to look for the real positives in China's ambitions on all fronts.

New Journey then moves on to consider China's future diplomatic role on the global stage. At the Two Sessions, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said China had "pressed the acceleration button and sounded a clarion call" for its diplomacy. 

Show guest Jorge Heine, the former Chilean ambassador to China, explains the critical significance of China's role in the recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the vital role the Belt and Road Initiative will play in setting up a much-needed alternative to development from a traditionally Western perspective.

Also on the show is Carsten Boyer Thøgersen, the former Danish Consul General in Shanghai and Guangzhou, who details the significance of China's return to the world stage and the opportunities that creates to bring peace to the world, especially with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

The final part of CGTN's special program addresses China's economic modernization and especially the transition to a green economy. 

Marsela Musabelliu, Executive Director of the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies, outlines why Chinese modernization is not and cannot be Westernization – it is peaceful and inclusive, offering a very different perspective.  

Bert Hofman, former China Director for the World Bank, explains the advances and opportunities China has already made in solar technology have already been gamechanging for the world. 

Chunping Xie, Senior Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, elaborates on how China's modernization is the perfect opportunity to put wellbeing, for people and the planet, center-stage. 

John McLean, the Chair of Britain's Institute of Directors and the China-UK Business Development Centre, considers how the green transition will be a major driver of global trade with China in the years to come now that the country is back open for business.