Chinese President Xi Jinping (fourth from left) and other leaders of members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) pose for a commemorative photo at a summit held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on the 16th. AP Yonhap News
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) completed a tour of Central Asia on the 14th and 16th, finishing his first outing in 2 years and 8 months. President Xi left China for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and led summit diplomacy overseas, focusing on protecting friendly forces in the midst of the US-China conflict and expanding influence. Chinese diplomat. China said Xi’s visit was part of a strategy to break through the US encirclement and was an opportunity to fully demonstrate China’s international status and influence.
On the 18th, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that President Xi had made a state visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan starting on the 14th and had returned home on the night of the 16th after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit ( SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Xi’s stay abroad lasted only 48 hours. However, in a short time, he participated in nearly 30 events and held bilateral talks with the leaders of 12 countries. He urged the leaders of each country to strengthen relations with economic cooperation and focused on attracting support from each country for the one China principle on the Taiwan issue. After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month, tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the US-China conflict have intensified.
The Chinese strategy is believed to have paid off to some extent. Xi received a warm welcome in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. She has managed to showcase China’s diplomatic status both internally and externally by directing the faces of the heads of countries meeting President Xi who has returned to the international stage. Using the country-led SCO summit as a stage for a return to multilateral diplomacy was also an effective strategy. At the SCO Summit, President Xi proposed establishing an independent payment and settlement system to combat the “dollar hegemony”, presented various support plans for member countries, and supported the construction of a “SCO Community of Destiny”. “. The “Samarkand Declaration” announced by member countries at this meeting also included a statement that “opposition to the resolution of international and regional problems through collectivization, ideology and counter-thinking”. This is the stance that China has taken against the strengthening of its encirclement network by the United States.
President Xi’s attendance at the SCO Summit is interpreted as an opportunity to reinforce the SCO’s anti-American and anti-Western colors. The expansion of the SCO perimeter also deserves attention. Through this meeting, Iran, an anti-American country, effectively completed the SCO membership process as an active member, and Belarus also initiated the SCO membership process. In addition, eight countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, will officially receive dialogue partner status or join as new dialogue partners. Turkiye (Turkey) announced its intention to join the SCO for the first time among NATO member states. The SCO, which currently occupies about 24% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 41% of the world’s population in terms of population size, is gradually expanding its power and is an important axis of Chinese diplomacy in the competition for l hegemony between the United States and China. is unfolding like
On the 14th, Chinese President Xi Jinping was greeted by President Shavkat Mirziyoev at Samarkand airport in Uzbekistan. Shinhwa Yonhap News
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For China, one of the results is digging into a hole where Russia’s influence in Central Asia is weakening after the war in Ukraine. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Central Asian countries, traditionally under Russian influence, feel insecure about their own security and are active in strengthening relations with China. From China’s point of view, Central Asia is also an important strategic location in terms of economy and security, such as the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi sent a message to Central Asian countries saying that he “strongly supports independence, sovereignty and territorial protection” and has actively embraced them.
In addition to diplomatic lines such as Yang Jiechi (杨洁篪), Politburo in charge of foreign affairs of the Communist Party, and Wang Yi (王毅, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs) in charge of foreign affairs, President Xi Jinping Xuexiang, secretary of the Secretariat party central and Heifeng, state development secretary. The fact that he was accompanied by a large number of key collaborators, including the head of the Reform Committee, shows the importance he attaches to this trip. After completing the tour, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: “The general international view is that President Xi’s choice to visit Central Asia for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 has strategic significance and that is a strategic move to break through the siege of the United States with his friends in the SCO. “” President Xi has fully demonstrated China’s international status and growing influence, “he said.” SCO has taken a new step in its expansion and brought relations between China and relevant countries to a new level, “he added.
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