Xi Jinping has hosted more than a dozen leaders this year, as ‘middle powers’ look beyond the US

Xi Jinping meets Bangladesh’s new prime minister on Friday, the latest in a wave of world leaders to visit Beijing this year as the Chinese leader builds his influence and economic ties, and seeks to “shift the balance of power” away from the west. Xi’s meeting with Tarique Rahman comes less than two weeks after the Chinese leader welcomed Myanmar’s military chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, in Beijing. In May, Xi hosted leaders from the US, Russia, Brunei, Serbia, Tajikistan and Pakistan, while a host of foreign ministers also came to China for lower level meetings. More than a dozen world leaders - including presidents and prime ministers - have visited so far this year, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the UK’s Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump. “The long list of world leaders travelling to Beijing to meet with Xi reflects the growing recognition of China’s increasing global influence,” said William Yang, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group. Xi Jinping hosted Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in January. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock Many of the leaders to visit China this year, including Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney , framed their trips as a chance for “middle-power” countries to chart an independent relationship with Beijing against a backdrop of an increasingly capricious US. …