Trip in countdown to Communist Party congress shows Xi Jinping’s confidence, experts say

Chinese president expected to travel overseas next week for the first time in more than two years

Face-to-face exchanges by top leadership will help China avoid appearing isolated from the rest of the world, observers say

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President Xi Jinping meets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, February 5. Experts say Xi’s trip abroad ahead of the 20th party congress shows his confidence. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00am, 7 Sep 2022Updated: 11:37am, 10 Sep 2022

The timing of President Xi Jinping’s first trip abroad in more than two years – just ahead of next month’s 20th Communist Party congress – is a display of confidence in his status and power, experts say.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that Xi would visit the country on September 14. The announcement followed an earlier statement by Beijing that Li Zhanshu, the head of the country’s legislature, would leave for Russia on Wednesday for an 11-day trip.

The two international trips will be the first by any member of the seven-person Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top political body, since Xi visited Myanmar in January 2020.

The announcements were made just days after Beijing publicised the date for its long-anticipated 20th national congress.

During that congress, which begins on October 16, Xi is widely expected to secure a third term as the party’s leader, as a new line-up of top officials are ushered in.

Xi’s trip to Kazakhstan will project an image of confidence to both domestic and international audiences, according to Xie Maosong, a senior fellow of the Taihe Institute and a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University.