Xi’s Diplomatic Tour Strengthens SCO, Deepens Ties with Kyrgyzstan and Egypt
Chinese President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on September 3 after a five-day diplomatic tour that took him to the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and on state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, briefing reporters on the tour’s conclusion, described it as centered on “solidarity and cooperation,” focused on “building a community with a shared future and upholding fairness and justice.”
The trip, which ran from August 30 to September 3, came amid accelerating global changes and mounting regional conflicts. Wang Yi said the visit carried “important immediate and far-reaching significance” for building consensus on cooperation and reforming global governance, according to Xinhua News Agency.
SCO Marks 25 Years of Regional Cooperation
The Bishkek summit marked the 25th anniversary of the SCO’s founding in 2001. What began as a six-member grouping has grown to encompass 27 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa, representing nearly half the world’s population and a quarter of global economic output.
In his address to the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State, Xi called on the organization to prioritize development and security, urging members to “stay committed to dialogue and consultation for more equitable and orderly governance,” as China Daily reported. He highlighted the SCO’s “most valuable spiritual asset” as the Shanghai Spirit, characterized by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for civilizational diversity, and pursuit of common development.
The summit produced the Bishkek Declaration, approved amendments to the SCO Charter, and established new institutions including the SCO Universal Center for Countering Security Challenges and Threats and an Anti-Drug Center. Leaders adopted 28 outcome documents, and Pakistan was designated to assume the SCO’s rotating presidency for 2026-2027.
At the subsequent SCO Plus meeting, Xi delivered a second address titled “Jointly Advocating an Equal and Orderly Multipolar World and Making Global Governance More Just and Equitable,” in which he declared that “the trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible” and called for equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all countries regardless of size, according to the Chinese government’s official transcript.
Xi also announced new initiatives including a China-SCO port economic cooperation center in Tianjin, a basic education cooperation center, and 100 technology cooperation projects over the next three years, building on the strategic blueprint established at the 2025 Tianjin Summit.
Kyrgyzstan: A Landmark Treaty of Permanent Friendship
Xi’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan, his first since bilateral ties were elevated, produced what Wang Yi called the tour’s “most significant political outcome”: the signing of a Treaty on Permanent Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the two nations. The treaty legally codifies the commitment to everlasting friendship, as CCTV reported.
The two leaders also signed a Joint Declaration on the High-Quality Development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for a New Era and witnessed the exchange of more than 30 cooperation documents covering trade, investment, transportation, customs, science and technology, education, and cultural exchanges, according to China Diplomacy.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov described China as “Kyrgyzstan’s closest friend and most reliable partner,” and expressed readiness to advance the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, calling it a potential “steel Silk Road” for the new era. The visit coincided with the 35th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence, with Anadolu Agency reporting that the treaty places bilateral relations on a long-term institutional footing.
During the summit, Xi also held bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. Putin affirmed that Russia-China relations “have become a model for state-to-state relations,” as reported by Al Jazeera.
Egypt: A Milestone Visit at 70 Years of Diplomacy
Xi’s state visit to Egypt marked the 70th anniversary of China-Egypt diplomatic relations and was his first visit to the country in a decade. The Cairo Tower was lit in “China Red” to welcome the Chinese leader, who arrived with his wife Peng Liyuan on September 1.
The visit produced a joint statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership, with more than 20 cooperation documents signed. Key agreements included launching the third phase of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and significantly expanding the bilateral currency swap arrangement.
According to Egyptian Streets, the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in electric vehicles, shipbuilding, renewable-energy equipment, agriculture, and automotive manufacturing, alongside technology sectors including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centers, semiconductors, and cybersecurity.
Xi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi toured the Grand Egyptian Museum together, a moment Wang Yi described as a vivid example of cultural exchange between two ancient civilizations. China has been Egypt’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching approximately $20.8 billion in 2025.
Regional Security and Multipolarity Messaging
Against the backdrop of the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran and conflict in Gaza, Xi’s proposals carried particular weight. During talks with Sisi, Xi put forward a four-point initiative on building a new security architecture in the Middle East, emphasizing that regional countries should be “masters of their own affairs” and that external powers should respect their sovereignty, as Al Jazeera reported.
Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf told the Global Times that China “can play an increasingly constructive role in the Middle East because its approach places strong emphasis on dialogue, development and respect for national sovereignty.” He added: “In the end, sustainable peace needs development, and sustainable development needs peace.”
Wang Yi framed the tour as demonstrating China’s commitment to an “equal and orderly multipolar world,” noting that the SCO Plus meeting’s theme of strengthening the United Nations’ role directly echoed China’s global governance initiative.
Looking Ahead
Analysts note that the tour reinforced China’s position as a key diplomatic actor across Central Asia and the Middle East, with the SCO serving as a platform for Global South cooperation and governance reform. The treaties signed in Kyrgyzstan and the expanded partnership with Egypt reflect Beijing’s strategy of building long-term institutional relationships that extend beyond immediate economic interests.
Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev observed that SCO members “experience different political and economic systems, yet what they decided within the organization is to put away differences and focus on similarities.” As the SCO enters its next quarter-century and China-Egypt relations mark seven decades, the question of how these partnerships evolve amid global uncertainty will remain central to the region’s diplomatic landscape.