China’s Xi builds diplomatic clout with multiple state visits ahead of Trump summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan landed in Bishkek for an official state visit and to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, according to reporting by CNBC. The annual security-focused gathering runs Monday and Tuesday, bringing together the heads of Russia, India, and other non-Western nations.

The journey highlights a notable pivot in Beijing’s diplomatic posture. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, told CNBC in an email that the Chinese leader has sharply curtailed foreign travel in recent years, so his busy upcoming travel schedule is a significant gauge of his priorities. Aside from a June state visit to North Korea for the first time in seven years, Xi has largely hosted visiting leaders at home, welcoming more than 20 leaders—including U.S. President Donald Trump—in the first half of the year, as pointed out by the U.S.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Expanding Global Influence at the SCO and BRICS Summits

With global stakes heightened by the Iran war, U.S.-China trade tensions, and growing security risks from artificial intelligence, Beijing is making the case for an evolution in its global role. CNBC cited Hai Zhao, a director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-affiliated think tank, who stated, It's time for China to probably take bigger responsibility, provide more global public goods.

Hai Zhao, a director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told CNBC, Because of China's deep integration into the global economy, China is an integral part of the solution, whether it is supply chain security, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, or cybersecurity.

As part of the same trip running through Thursday, Xi plans to make his first state visit to Egypt in a decade, where China has built up its presence in the Suez Canal region with a bilateral economic and trade cooperation zone. Xi is then expected to attend another non-Western leaders’ summit, BRICS, which will be held in New Delhi from Sept. 12 to Sept. 13. China has yet to confirm Xi’s participation in the event, which would mark his first visit to India since 2019 and follow the deadly border clashes between the two countries in 2020.

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Washington Watches Multi-Polar Alignments and Russian Oil Trade

Experts said the U.S. will be monitoring developments at the SCO and BRICS summits, as it looks to improve ties with India and China but plans to get tougher on Russia to bring an end to Moscow’s war with Ukraine. Trade friction remains a background variable, though bilateral relations have shifted since last year’s viral clip of Xi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin laughing together at the SCO summit in Tianjin—a meeting that drew the ire of Washington, with Trump claiming that it had lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.

A lot has changed since, including a landmark visit by Trump to China earlier this year, and Xi is expected to visit Washington in September after the BRICS summit. In February this year, Trump announced that he would scale back the tariffs on India to 18% from 50%, and the two countries are in the process of negotiating a trade deal. Kpler data shows that more than 50% of India’s crude supplies originated from Russia in June and July, and were around 43% as of last week. Rossow, senior advisor and chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at CSIS, warned that “visible warmthbetween Modi and Putincould shape the President’s [Trump] calculations over using potential new secondary tariff authorities” over India’s purchases of Russian oil.

Meanwhile, experts expect New Delhi to use its presence at the SCO and BRICS summits to highlight the strength of its multi-polar alignment, showing Washington that it has other partners. Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, South Asia practice head at Eurasia Group, told CNBC that the Indian side will convey to the U.S. that there will be a price if you continue to remain uncertain.

Bilateral Momentum Between Beijing and New Delhi

Ties between the two neighbors have improved over the last year after Modi and Xi met in Tianjin last year. Direct flights have resumed between India and China, a few old Silk Road trade routes have opened, and in March India relaxed rules around investment from Beijing. Last week, the two sides also agreed to work on resolving their long-standing border disputes, yet the issues between the two sides are far from resolved.

Following their SCO meeting, Xi and Modi are expected to meet in New Delhi for the BRICS summit.