World leaders have been streaming into Beijing for summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent months, drawing diplomatic attention. As tensions between the United States and Iran drag on, China appears to be using the steady flow of visiting leaders to position itself as a central anchor of multilateralism. Some analysts say Xi is even reaping the symbolic benefits of an arrangement reminiscent of the tribute system once centered on Chinese emperors.
According to a Financial Times tally based on data from China's Foreign Ministry and state media, a total of 21 heads of state or government visited China during the first five months of this year. The list includes the leaders of Turkmenistan, Uruguay and Mozambique, as well as major Western leaders such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also recently held summits with Xi. This week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić visited Beijing.
Experts said this diplomatic activity is helping China build an image as a trusted multilateral player on the international stage. Despite controversy over its trade policies, military actions and close ties with Russia and North Korea, China is managing to assert its presence as a diplomatic hub, observers said.
At the same time, some inside China see echoes of the old tribute system, with the diplomatic order in which neighboring kings and envoys traveled to pay homage to the emperor being reenacted in modern form. John Delury, an expert on modern Chinese history, told the FT that "to the Chinese public, the sight of leaders from around the world coming to China looks like the restoration of a natural order," adding that "the emperor never left China."
Xi has also sharply curtailed his own foreign travel. He has yet to make a single overseas trip this year and made just six foreign visits last year. Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, said that "since the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi's overseas trips have concentrated on China's neighbors and partners in Central Asia and Southeast Asia," describing them as "regions where the United States has paid relatively little attention."
Analysts also said Xi prefers individual summits in Beijing over international conferences. Through this approach, he seeks to exert influence over relatively weaker countries and reinforce a bilateral model of diplomacy.
Damien Ma, head of Singapore-based research institute Carnegie China, said that "from China's perspective, the road to Europe runs through Berlin and Paris, not Brussels," adding that "in Southeast Asia, too, China prefers dealing with individual countries rather than ASEAN as a whole."
Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, said the spectacle of Western leaders rushing to Beijing, seemingly mindful of US President Donald Trump, has further reinforced Xi's narrative of "China's rise and America's decline."
Experts believe that, given recent purges of senior military officials, Xi is likely to focus on managing domestic politics to secure another term in office. Ma said that "while it isn't readily apparent on the surface, China has in effect already entered a political season centered on the next power structure," adding that "for Xi, staying at home is more advantageous than continuing to travel abroad."
