Beijing leverages Eurasian and Middle East ties to show Washington it has alternatives
4-MIN READ4-MINFan ChenPublished: 11:00pm, 7 Sep 2026His summit with Donald Trump is just over two weeks away, but already this month Xi Jinping has had one of his busiest stretches of diplomatic travel in recent years.
Observers say the flurry of diplomatic activity is not only about making progress on bilateral ties but also an effort to strengthen China’s negotiating hand with the United States.
WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping at Shanghai Cooperation OrganisationSun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, said the summit with Trump was important but Xi’s diplomatic sequencing emphasised that China’s foreign relations did not “revolve around a single axis centred on Washington”.
