Xi Jinping to visit Egypt, India and attend SCO summit before expected U.S. meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to make a series of rare foreign trips in the coming weeks, beginning with a stop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The itinerary continues with a state visit to Egypt, his first in a decade, and a likely appearance at the BRICS summit in New Delhi on Sept. 12-13, which would mark his first visit to India since 2019.

Analysts note that Xi’s expanded travel schedule signals a shift in Beijing’s diplomatic priorities after a year in which he travelled abroad only for a June visit to North Korea. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, said the trips are a “significant gauge of his priorities.”

Chinese officials argue that the visits underscore China’s growing role in global governance. Hai Zhao, director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China must “take bigger responsibility, provide more global public goods” given its integration into the world economy.

The United States is expected to monitor the SCO and BRICS meetings closely as it seeks to balance relations with India and China while maintaining pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine. Richard M. Rossow, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that “visible warmth” between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin could influence U.S. tariff decisions on Indian imports of Russian oil.

India’s participation in the summits is seen as an effort to demonstrate its multi-polar alignment. Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, South Asia practice head at Eurasia Group, said New Delhi will convey to Washington that “there will be a price if you continue to remain uncertain.”

Bilateral ties between India and China have improved over the past year, with resumed direct flights, reopened trade routes and renewed talks on border disputes. However, challenges remain, including visa difficulties for Indian business travelers and differing approaches to technology transfers.

Technology and trade are expected to dominate the agenda at the anticipated September meeting between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump. Senior officials from both sides recently met in Beijing, discussing artificial-intelligence safeguards and cooperation on cancer research. Zhao warned that uncontrolled large-language-model development could be “very damaging” to both economies, while Wildau expressed skepticism about reaching consensus on AI policy.