Chinese President Xi Jinping is placing greater weight on "home-turf diplomacy," inviting world leaders to Beijing rather than traveling abroad, according to analysts. The shift reflects both the enhanced standing of China's Big Tech sector and the willingness of foreign leaders, weary of excessive US unilateralism, to come to China on their own.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Tuesday, 10 foreign leaders, including South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, have made official visits to China so far this year, while Xi has not made a single overseas trip during the same period. Last year, Xi traveled abroad only four times, visiting a total of six countries, while 44 foreign leaders came to China over the same stretch.
This marks a clear change from the early years of Xi's rule. During his first term from 2013 to 2017, Xi visited an average of 15 countries per year. He maintained active visit diplomacy in 2018 and 2019, just before COVID-19, traveling to 13 countries each year. But from 2023 through last year, after China began its "with COVID" phase in earnest, he visited an average of only six countries annually. Over the same period, nearly 48 foreign leaders per year came to China.
Experts attribute the shift to the rise in China's diplomatic standing. In particular, with US foreign policy heading in unpredictable directions since the launch of Donald Trump's second administration, China is seen as benefiting by comparison. Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, said, "Due to Trump's unilateralism, protectionism, and unpredictability, many countries, including US allies, are strengthening their partnerships with China."
Some analysts also point out that foreign leaders are more actively choosing to visit China to see its technological advances firsthand. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country competes with China in manufacturing sectors such as automobiles and chemicals, visited Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province during his February trip to China and toured technology firms including Unitree and Rokid. Zhu Zhiqun, a professor of international relations at Bucknell University in the US, said, "Foreign leaders are leading the visits to China, showing the greatest interest in seeing for themselves China's technological advances in areas such as electric vehicles and robotics."
