China’s Diplomatic Drive and U.S. Discord: Parallel Summits Signal Competing Global Agendas

Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Central Asia this week, delivering a message to a world unsettled by President Trump: China has friends and influence and is ready to help shape what comes next.

At a security summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Xi convened with the leaders of Russia and Iran, portraying Beijing as a source of stability and a champion of an “orderly multipolar world” that would supplant the current U.S.-dominated order.

While Bishkek showcased solidarity, a gathering of the world’s most powerful finance ministers and central bankers in Asheville, North Carolina, underscored a stark fracture.

European officials at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville voiced outrage over the Trump administration’s invitation of Russia despite its war against Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked that Canada was too small to engage in a trade war with the United States. Meanwhile, officials grappled with the economic fallout from the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, which disrupted oil flows, drove up global energy prices, and threatened to slow growth.

The back‑to‑back summits underscored the widening contest over who will shape the next phase of global order. By aligning with Russia and Iran—both at odds with the West—China is projecting its influence and bolstering Xi Jinping’s leverage ahead of his upcoming meeting with President Trump. In contrast, the United States appears to be straining the alliances and economic ties that have underpinned its decades‑long global leadership.

‘China’s strategy for reshaping the international order is to rally support from the “global majority,”’ said Ryan Hass, a former diplomat and White House national security official now at the Brookings Institution.

“Xi’s engagement in these groupings is vital for Beijing,” he added. “It constructs a narrative of China gaining momentum and building support for a more central role on the world stage.”

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Xi met with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, though his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin were the most consequential. This gathering followed a recent secret visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow, urging the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. Xi told Putin, “The foundation of China‑Russia relations will become ever stronger.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended the summit, although it remained unclear whether Xi engaged in direct talks with him.

In contrast, the United States seems to be drifting from its traditional allies, weakening its capacity to project global strength. President Trump has launched a trade conflict with Canada and scaled back military exercises with South Korea. Additionally, concerns are mounting that U.S. munitions are being depleted in the Middle East and that America’s defense commitments worldwide are faltering.

German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called it “troubling” that the Trump administration invited Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to the G20 meeting, and he rebuked Siluanov during a session over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many Europeans were also upset that the U.S. Treasury did not invite representatives from South Africa, a long‑standing G20 member and Africa’s largest economy.

An Opportunity for China

Beijing is eager to capitalize on the openings President Trump has created by alienating Washington’s traditional partners. Wu Xinbo, an American‑studies scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai who advises China’s Foreign Ministry, said Beijing’s goals are to forge a consensus that prevents the United States from unilaterally setting the agenda and to assume a larger role in driving the global economy. (China also attended the G20 meeting.)

“Now that the American engine is losing steam—or even generating negative side effects—China, as an economic engine, must step up and play a greater role in driving and leading global growth,” he said.

The Bishkek summit was part of Xi Jinping’s broader diplomatic push to navigate the emerging global divide. This year he has hosted numerous Western leaders, including those from Germany, Britain, and Canada, and plans to travel to Cairo next. He is also slated to attend a BRICS summit—comprising emerging economies led by China and India—in New Delhi.

While Xi aims to portray these groupings as a unified counterweight to the West, disagreements persist. Historically, Beijing and New Delhi have clashed within BRICS over how best to compete with the United States, with India wary of excessive confrontation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, during side talks at the Kyrgyzstan summit, urged President Putin to end the war in Ukraine “for the sake of humanity.” Putin responded that Russia was “moving in this direction,” Russian state media reported.

The Bishkek gathering also highlighted the limits of the group’s cohesion. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is not a military alliance; while Beijing provides diplomatic support, it has refrained from committing forces to defend Russia or Iran.

China sees this as intentional, argued Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel of the People’s Liberation Army now at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

“Because it is not an alliance, it is not perceived as provocative,” he said. “People have little issue accepting or engaging with it.”

As Washington retreats and the world grows more multipolar, nations are gravitating toward pragmatic forums with fewer conditions, Mr. Zhou observed. “Naturally everyone is hedging their bets,” he added.

Building Leverage Before Trump Summit

China’s diplomatic display of strength also reflects Xi Jinping’s need to broaden his options ahead of his meeting with President Trump in Washington later this month.

Even after striking an economic truce with China, the Trump administration has maintained pressure by banning imports of Chinese robots and expanding sanctions on Chinese firms that import Iranian oil.

Trump officials have also moved to impede China’s progress in artificial intelligence, threatening to restrict Chinese AI models that harvest data from U.S. counterparts. According to a State Department letter obtained by The New York Times, the administration is preparing to warn dozens of countries against joining a Chinese AI initiative, threatening to exclude them from a U.S.-led AI coalition known as Pax Silica. It remains unclear whether the letters have been dispatched, and the State Department declined to comment.

China also confronts potential trade curbs from Europe. Lawmakers in Brussels are seeking to curb a flood of Chinese goods—including electric vehicles, solar panels, and industrial chemicals—entering the European Union, which they say is accelerating job losses in the tens of thousands.

Domestically, Xi faces pressing challenges. A recent flood along the border with Nepal has claimed thousands of lives and left many missing, raising doubts about China’s disaster preparedness. Additionally, a prolonged property crisis has weighed on the Chinese economy, compelling Beijing to lean more heavily on exports to drive growth, even as this approach strains relations with trading partners.

“China faces headwinds, and so does the United States,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington. “The goal is to secure sufficient support and endorsement at the SCO while avoiding a direct affront to Trump.”

Siyi Zhao contributed research from Beijing.

Source link