Xi begins busiest travel month since 2019 before Trump talks

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is setting off on what’s shaping up as his busiest travel schedule in more than seven years, partly in a bid to convince nations that Beijing offers better global leadership than the U.S.

This month, Xi is visiting Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, and is widely expected to attend a BRICS summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When those visits are done, he’s set for a late September stop in Washington, where he’ll meet U.S. President Donald Trump in a bid to keep the two nations’ trade truce in place.

The last time Xi was as active abroad was mid-2019, when he visited five countries, including North Korea. The current spurt of travel stands out because Xi has cut his foreign travel back in recent years, choosing instead to court foreign leaders in Beijing.