China’s Xi welcomes stream of leaders shaken by Trump’s new world order

BEIJING - US President Donald Trump’s tariff war has occupied US allies for much of 2025. Now, Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcoming a procession of leaders looking to mend fences with the world’s other major economy.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung kicked off the trend in January, cementing an improvement in ties by becoming his nation’s first president to visit China since 2019. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney followed suit when he arrived late on Jan 14, closing a near-decade gap in leader-to-leader diplomacy between Ottawa and Beijing in the Asian nation.

Days later, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to travel to the Chinese capital to buoy British business, marking a first since 2018. Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also expected to visit in February.

The parade of politicians comes months after Mr Trump sealed a tariff truce with China that tamped down tensions between the world’s largest economies. Mr Xi and the US leader are slated to meet four times in 2026, with an April summit likely making Mr Trump the fifth head of a Group of Seven (G-7) country to visit China in half a year – if his latest tariff threats do not blow up the detente. 

“Trump is triggering diplomatic FOMO across the Western world,” said Mr Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, using an acronym for “fear of missing out”.

“His approach leaves leaders eager to engage Xi so they aren’t sidelined by US-China manoeuvring.”

Underscoring the shift, the Trump administration this week moved closer to allowing Nvidia to sell more advanced chips to China, while still withholding top-tier goods. Previously, under Mr Joe Biden, the US had rallied partners to blunt Beijing’s access to cutting-edge semiconductors deemed crucial to its military goals.

Mr Xi is seizing the opportunity to isolate Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose comments suggesting Japan might deploy its military if China attempts to seize Taiwan have enraged Beijing. In a carefully choreographed move, China’s Commerce Ministry unveiled export curbs on Tokyo during the visit of South Korea’s Lee, who quickly clarified ties with Asia’s top economies were of equal importance.

Foreign leaders have another reason to visit Beijing in 2026: rare earths.

When Mr Trump and Mr Xi sealed a trade pact last October, Beijing agreed to a one-year suspension of tighter export controls on some critical minerals, of which China is the dominant global supplier. Mr Trump hailed that pact as a win for the world, but leaders of Western economies are keen to make their case with Chinese authorities. 

During his December trip, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul claimed progress in efforts to secure the metals, saying Beijing indicated it would be constructive in handling European orders. 

Underscoring concerns about China’s chokehold, finance ministers from G-7 nations, along with officials from other countries, met on Jan 12 in Washington to discuss ways to “address vulnerabilities in critical minerals supply chains”, the US Treasury said.

Overtures from US partners also come in the wake of Mr Trump’s tariff war, which in 2025 pressured American allies into pledging billion-dollar investments. At the same time, the Republican leader has brought Russian President Vladimir Putin out of isolation, stunned the world by deposing Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and made invasion threats toward Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. 

When it comes to repairing ties with China, “the reasons for not doing it have evaporated”, said Mr Kurt Tong, a former senior US diplomat in Asia, noting the “less confrontational” relationship between Washington and Beijing.

“A lot of countries are concerned about their economic relations with China, want to try and shape them,” said Mr Tong, who’s now a managing partner at The Asia Group.

“It’s an important economy, and everyone needs to do business with China.”

Many foreign governments harbour concerns about China flooding their economies with exports, with French leader Emmanuel Macron calling the situation “life or death” for European industry after his December visit to Beijing. But most are taking a pragmatic approach.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave an early template for balancing ties during his first term in office, where he largely played down anything security-related and focused on restoring trade. His visit to China in November 2023 helped close a tense chapter, after Beijing imposed punitive measures on some Australian goods. He visited the Chinese capital a second time in 2025.

Evidence of the shift was seen in the European Union’s decision this week to consider setting minimum prices to replace tariffs imposed against Chinese electric vehicles since 2024. Such a system could draw a line under a spat that saw Beijing retaliate by targeting European industries including dairy, pork and brandy. 

Similarly, China is hoping to press Mr Carney to relax Canada’s 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars – introduced to align with Biden-era levies – during his trip, according to people familiar with the matter. In return, Beijing will propose easing restrictions on Canadian rapeseed products.

Mr Starmer will also be chasing deals to help his economy’s struggles with anaemic growth, while juggling concerns over China as a national security threat. A decision by the British government on Beijing’s plan for a massive new embassy in London that is due in January still has the potential to influence Mr Starmer’s plans. 

Facilitating the shift is a change of guard in many nations. In Canada, Mr Carney has taken over from Mr Justin Trudeau, whose leadership was marked by an extradition spat with Beijing that soured ties – tensions caught on camera during a heated exchange with Mr Xi at a G-20 summit in 2022.  

In Britain, the Conservative Party that had criticised Beijing over alleged human rights abuses in Hong Kong has been replaced by Mr Starmer’s Labour Party. South Korea’s new leader has taken a more dovish approach than his predecessor and pushed China to lift its de facto ban on K-pop entertainment.

With Mr Xi, 72, travelling abroad less – he skipped the recent G-20 leaders’ summit in South Africa, for example – the impetus is on foreign leaders to subscribe to his home-court diplomacy.

“Faced with a US acting belligerent and erratic on the international stage, many leaders will conclude they need to be at least on decent terms with China,” said Dr Alexander Dukalskis, associate professor in politics and international relations at University College Dublin.

For Mr Xi, whose economy is also seeking growth drivers, that is a win.

“When your enemy is engaging in self-harm, just sit back and enjoy the show,” Dr Dukalskis added. BLOOMBERG