Xiong's book consists of four sections, "International Strategic Situation: Retrospect and Prospect," "National Security Strategy and Policy," "International Relations and Foreign Policies" and "Military Diplomacy and Building." The first section is a collection of the interviews and speeches the author gave either at the beginning or the end of each year since 2000. In these articles, Xiong reviews the international situation of the past year and looks ahead to the coming year. The Chinese have always cherished this belief: "Those who fail to consider long-term interests are unable to make short-term achievements; those who fail to look at the overall situation are unable to make a difference in a single area." Accurately judging the international situation and monitoring changes as they develop is a major strategic issue bearing on China's security, development and domestic and foreign policies.

"In order to have a correct understanding and judgment of the strategic situation in the world and in China's surrounding regions, we need to have the deep vision necessary for gaining insight into the main themes of our times as well as the world's economic, political, military, scientific and technological developments," Xiong writes. "At the same time, we should view it from a historical perspective of the rise and great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In reality, some comrades are easily misled by superficial phenomena. They often see only the parts but not the whole, are concerned only with the present but not the future, regard a part as the whole, and attend to trifles while neglecting the essentials. This could be very detrimental to our cause."

The international situation has undergone profound and complicated changes since the beginning of the 21st century. Major events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the emergence of the "Bush doctrine," the war in Iraq, the North Korean nuclear crisis, the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, and the international financial crisis have deeply influenced the international strategic situation. They have also sparked heated debate on the international situation and China's foreign policy in relevant departments, the academic community and the general public. If you read Xiong's annual international situation reviews while bearing in mind the context in which they were published, you will gain a better understanding of the author's viewpoints and arguments. The author takes the trend of the times and overall strategic situation into consideration when he analyzes the changes in the international situation at a certain stage.