As clock counts down to Trump summit, Xi boosts global clout with diplomatic blitz

His summit with Donald Trump is just over two weeks away, but already this month Xi Jinping has had one of his busiest stretches of diplomatic travel in recent years.

First he wrapped up the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and then he made a state visit to Egypt.

Xi is expected to head off again later this week to visit New Delhi for the Brics summit before he travels to Washington. Beijing has not yet confirmed those two trips, in line with its practice of making official travel announcements at the last minute.

Observers say the flurry of diplomatic activity is not only about making progress on bilateral ties but also an effort to strengthen China’s negotiating hand with the United States.

WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, said the summit with Trump was important but Xi’s diplomatic sequencing emphasised that China’s foreign relations did not “revolve around a single axis centred on Washington”.