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This Week Will Likely Mark the End of Xi Jinping’s 971 Day Absence From International Diplomacy

by Eric Olander
Handout provided by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of who is expected to attend this week's summit in Uzbekistan.

The last time Xi Jinping traveled abroad was a trip to Myanmar on January 17, 2020. This week, the Chinese president is widely expected to end his nearly three-year absence from international diplomacy when he heads to Central Asia for a state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday and then to neighboring Uzbekistan, where he’s scheduled to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Thursday and Friday.

It’s important to note, however, that even though it looks very likely that President Xi will, in fact, make the trip to Central Asia this week, there have been no official confirmations from the Chinese side. There is still the (albeit apparently remote) possibility that the President won’t attend in person. 

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