This week, Xi Jinping reminded the world that Beijing still prefers the long game—even as the board keeps changing. The diplomatic action started with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Luxon flying to Beijing for talks with Xi, amid warnings from former Kiwi leaders not to get sucked into a new US-China cold war. Xi, ever the tactician, urged “mutual respect” and “non-confrontation”, insisting that New Zealand “remain neutral” as US pressure mounts in the Pacific.
Behind the scenes, the choreography was classic Xi: state media trumpeted the benefits of “pragmatic cooperation,” while the official Foreign Ministry staged photos and issued statements celebrating China’s global “win-win” philosophy.
But if Xi seemed calm on the Pacific front, his nerves were tested elsewhere. A phone call with Donald Trump grabbed global attention, with both sides spinning it as a diplomatic thaw—even as analysts noted the timing looked suspiciously like Trump’s idea of a “quick win” to counter Biden’s Indo-Pacific moves. Bloomberg’s analysis was blunt: Xi is betting on outlasting the Western attention span, waiting for a deal that suits Beijing.
Domestically, the party machine ran at full speed, pumping out editorials about China’s “irreversible rise” and Xi’s “brilliant leadership”. Yet even loyalists are whispering about cracks beneath the surface, with foreign commentators speculating about Xi’s ability to weather economic stagnation, demographic decline, and a growing diplomatic pushback.
For now, Xi’s playbook remains the same: stage manage the optics, keep neighbors guessing, and remind every partner that China is both a trade superpower and a master of “strategic ambiguity.” The world may be shifting, but in Beijing, nothing happens by accident—and every crisis is just another move on the board.