Chinese President Xi Jinping undertook a five-day trip to Central Asia and the Middle East from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, attending the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit and paying state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt. The tour sent strong messages of certainty and positive momentum amid a turbulent and rapidly changing world.
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Observers said the trip was in line with the broader trends of the times, with Xi, who envisions a shared future for humanity, putting forward a series of proposals to reform and improve global governance.
A Vision for a More Equal, Orderly Multipolar World
At the expanded SCO Plus meeting in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Xi called for "a more equal and orderly multipolar world" and a fairer and more equitable global governance system, while stressing the need to strengthen the role of the United Nations.
Since its establishment in 2001, the SCO has grown from a six-member Eurasian organization into a grouping of 27 countries spanning Asia, Europe and Africa.
In his speech, Xi said sovereign equality and mutual respect are fundamental principles; balance, order and the rule of law are essential requirements; multilateralism, dialogue and consultation are key approaches; while mutual benefit, win-win cooperation and inclusiveness provide a path toward development.
These principles underpin Xi's vision of global governance, which was first articulated with the launch of the Global Governance Initiative at last year's SCO Summit in the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin, as the United Nations marked its 80th anniversary.
The initiative has received support from around 160 countries and international organizations. Groups of Friends of the Global Governance Initiative have been established in New York, Geneva and Vienna. The Global Organization for Artificial Intelligence Cooperation, the world's first intergovernmental international organization dedicated to artificial intelligence, was launched in Shanghai to promote AI governance. These efforts are helping turn the Global Governance Initiative into concrete action.
Nurlan Yermekbayev, secretary-general of the SCO, said Xi's Global Governance Initiative, together with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, had all received widespread recognition.
"This is an integrated system of ideas and practical approaches aimed at addressing today's pressing challenges and building a fair, peaceful and sustainable world order," he said.
During the tour, Xi continued his efforts to promote peace, development and prosperity at both the international and regional levels.
At the SCO meetings, Xi put forward four proposals to advance the organization's high-quality development and three proposals to strengthen its role.
During his state visit to Kyrgyzstan, Xi and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Japarov, signed a bilateral treaty on good-neighborliness, friendship and lasting cooperation.
In Egypt, Xi proposed a four-point approach to building a new security architecture in the Middle East.
Development for the People
During talks with Japarov, Xi called for efforts to advance the building of a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future and deliver greater benefits to the peoples of both countries.
Xi urged the high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, a flagship Belt and Road project linking China with Central Asia.
In his address to the SCO summit, Xi called on the organization to put development first and open up new prospects for shared prosperity.
He said the SCO should support inclusive and mutually beneficial economic globalization and strengthen cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, energy and resources, while expanding cooperation in emerging fields including artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green industries and green mining.
The same focus on development and people's well-being was evident during Xi's visit to Egypt. In a joint statement, China commended Egypt's "Decent Life" initiative for its efforts to improve people's living standards, while Egypt expressed its appreciation for the Global Development Initiative.
Xi has also said: "People's sense of fulfillment should be the goal of both local and global governance, and we must continue to instill confidence and provide people with stable expectations."
Learning From Each Other
In a signed article published ahead of his visit to Kyrgyzstan, Xi described the ancient Silk Road as a testament to the longstanding friendship between the two peoples. He referred to historical figures such as diplomat Zhang Qian, monk Xuanzang and poet Li Bai, whose legacies are seen as strengthening civilizational exchanges between China and Kyrgyzstan.
During his visit to Egypt, Xi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited the Grand Egyptian Museum, where Egypt's ancient heritage is displayed against the backdrop of the millennia-old pyramids.
Xi and El-Sisi, accompanied by their wives, spent more than an hour touring the museum, which houses more than 100,000 valuable artifacts.
They toured the main galleries and took a commemorative photo in front of a monumental statue of Ramses II, one of Egypt's most renowned pharaohs, while museum staff provided brief explanations of ancient Egyptian history.
"This museum is like a book with no end to its pages," Xi said.
The museum visit also highlighted Xi's longstanding emphasis on exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
Over the years, Xi's overseas trips have taken him to museums and historic sites, from the Amir Timur Museum in Uzbekistan to the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza in Mexico. Within China, Xi has also invited foreign leaders to visit historic sites, including the Forbidden City, the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system and the Temple of Heaven, which dates back more than 600 years.
At the Grand Egyptian Museum, Xi called on the two countries to promote inclusive coexistence and mutual learning among different civilizations and draw greater strength from civilizations to advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
The remarks echoed a message Xi sent to El-Sisi on the occasion of the museum's opening last year. In that message, Xi highlighted vibrant cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, citing the successful exhibition on ancient Egyptian civilization in Shanghai and joint archaeological excavations at the Saqqara pyramids south of Cairo.
"It is encouraging to see two ancient civilizations communicating with each other, and the two peoples growing closer through mutual understanding and familiarity," Xi said.
