What does Xi Jinping’s diplomatic marathon say about China’s foreign policy?
Chinese president’s meetings this week with several key leaders highlight Beijing’s shifting overseas priorities
The South China Morning Post
The themes of the talks have shed more light on China’s engagement with partners as Beijing casts itself as a champion of a multipolar global order and forges closer economic cooperation.
Multilateralism: a keyword doing heavy lifting
In meetings with almost all leaders, Xi stressed the importance of upholding multilateralism and the United Nations-centred international order.
This principle was enshrined in the Tianjin Declaration, which was adopted at the summit, and also in his remarks during the Victory Day military parade on Wednesday.
While no country was singled out for criticism, Xi’s remarks did take veiled shots at the United States, which is embroiled with many nations in tariff disputes and security matters. Beijing has repeatedly criticised Washington for disrupting the international order.
On Thursday in Beijing, Xi met with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. “Faced with the counter-current of unilateralism and the law of the jungle, an increasing number of countries have recognised that compromise and retreat offer no way forward; only by uniting and strengthening ourselves can we find hope,” Xi said.
Xi also assured the leaders of Zimbabwe and Cuba of China’s continued support “in opposing external interference and illegal sanctions”.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his wife and several other senior government officials are under US sanctions for their alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.
The US has maintained economic sanctions against Cuba for over 60 years, including a comprehensive trade embargo.
Xi also promoted cooperation in culture, education and tourism, and expressed solidarity with leaders from the Global South, part of Beijing’s soft power push which is considered crucial in full-scale competition with the US.
Rail links, energy and investment
These investment projects are evidence of China’s growing interests in Central Asia.
Other projects mentioned include a new economic corridor between China and Pakistan and an industrial development corridor with Cambodia.
Xi also called for continued efforts on similar projects in Laos and Malaysia.
Since its launch 12 years ago, the belt and road strategy has focused on building airports, seaports, roads and power plants in countries that trade with China.
New energy, artificial intelligence and energy are also being targeted for cooperation.
Law enforcement cooperation
Xi emphasised law enforcement collaboration with several neighbours.
In talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Myanmar’s acting president, Min Aung Hlaing, Xi said the two countries should join China to tackle online gambling and telecoms fraud.
Recent abductions of Chinese nationals in Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand, in which they were forced to work in online fraud schemes, provoked public outrage in China.
Cooperation against terrorism was a key theme of the declaration adopted at the Tianjin summit.
Xi told Tajikistan’s president, Emomali Rahmon, and Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, that their countries should cooperate with China against the “three forces” – an SCO reference to terrorism, separatism and extremism.
During talks with Erdogan, Xi said that China and Turkey should strengthen political mutual trust and “enhance counterterrorism and security cooperation”.
Although Turkey and China do not share a border, historical ethnic ties have made Turkey a refuge for Uygurs from China’s western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Beijing has labelled some Uygur diaspora as separatists and terrorists.
Beijing has disapproved of Ankara’s ambiguous stance on Xinjiang. However, as high-level exchanges between the two nations have improved, Turkey has repeatedly pledged to cooperate with China to fight terrorism.