Xi returns to Beijing after SCO summit, state visits to Kyrgyzstan, Egypt

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Chinese President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Thursday after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2026 in Bishkek, and concluding his state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Against the backdrop of accelerating changes unseen in a century and growing turbulence and transformation in the international landscape, President Xi embarked on this journey to Central Asia and the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

With solidarity and cooperation running through the trip as its main theme, the visits focused on building a community with a shared future and upholding fairness and justice, and carried important immediate and far-reaching significance for building broader consensus for cooperation and reforming and improving global governance, he said. 

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while briefing reporters on the conclusion of Xi’s attendance at the SCO Summit in Bishkek and state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt from August 30 to September 3, Xinhua reported.

Wang said that through the collective efforts of all parties concerned, the SCO Summit in Bishkek has injected vitality into regional development.

President Xi’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan has strengthened the bonds of permanent good-neighborliness and friendship between the two countries, Wang added.

It has also opened up new prospects for shared prosperity, deepened commitment to a shared future and demonstrated China’s principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy, he noted.

President Xi’s state visit to Egypt fully demonstrates the strategic, leading and exemplary nature of China-Egypt relations, marking a milestone in the development of bilateral ties, Wang Yi has also said.

This diplomatic tour spans two strategically important regions – Central Asia and the Middle East and Africa. Chinese and international observers said the trip offered a window into a broader question confronting today’s world: amid mounting geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts and growing uncertainty, how greater certainty for peace, stability and development can be created through dialogue and cooperation.

Commitment to coexistence

The SCO summit wrapped up in Bishkek on Tuesday. Leaders of the member states signed and issued the Bishkek Declaration, approved the protocol on amendments and additions to the SCO Charter, the regulations on the SCO Universal Center for Countering Security Challenges and Threats and the regulations on the SCO Anti-drug Center, and adopted 28 outcome documents covering such areas as security, economic and people-to-people cooperation, and organizational development, according to Xinhua.

In his speech at the summit, Xi said this year marks the 25th founding anniversary of the SCO. He pointed out that 25 years ago, safeguarding sovereignty, security and development interests became a shared consensus among countries in the region in the face of the profound lessons of the Cold War, the real threat posed by the “three evil forces,” as well as the strong aspirations of people in various countries for peace and development.

Xi put forward a four-point proposal at the summit: stay committed to putting development first, and open up the prospects for shared prosperity; stay committed to taking security as a key goal, and foster an environment of common security; stay committed to a people-centered approach, and cement the foundation for everlasting friendship; and stay committed to dialogue and consultation, and strive for more equitable and orderly governance.

“SCO member states experience different political and economic systems, yet what they decided within the organization is to put away differences and focus on similarities,” former Kyrgyz PM Djoomart Otorbaev said.

He summarized SCO cooperation in three words: connectivity, pragmatism and cooperation, arguing that the organization’s strength lies partly in its ability to rise above differences while allowing member states to retain their own political systems, economic models and foreign policy choices.

Some Chinese observers also highlighted that the SCO’s growing engagement with the Global South also gives this regional organization a wider significance. As more developing countries seek a greater voice in global governance, the organization is increasingly seen as a platform through which countries outside traditional Western-led alliances can coordinate positions and pursue cooperation without being forced into exclusive geopolitical camps.

At this year’s SCO summit, Wang said, the strategic blueprint drawn up in Tianjin is gradually becoming a reality, with the organization’s structure becoming more optimized, its operations more efficient, and its cooperation more effective.

Good neighbors, shared future

During the state visit to Kyrgyzstan, the two heads of state signed a joint declaration of the People’s Republic of China and the Kyrgyz Republic on the high-quality development of the comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era and a bilateral treaty on permanent good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, Xinhua reported on Monday.

Wang Yi described the signing of the treaty as “the most significant political outcome.”

Liu Xinlu, dean of the School of Arabic Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that the weight of the treaty lies precisely in the word “permanent”, as it reflects a kind of strategic mutual trust that transcends short-term interests and is designed to withstand the test of time.

Such trust is not the product of interest-based binding, but is rooted in mutual respect and mutual support, Liu said, noting that peaceful coexistence, mutual assistance and win-win cooperation have remained the mainstream and defining features of China-Kyrgyzstan relations.

The trajectory of China-Kyrgyzstan ties shows how political trust between neighbors can gradually be translated into tangible development cooperation.

In an interview with local media outlet Open.KG, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubaev hailed the Chinese leader’s visit, saying it opens a new chapter in the Kyrgyz-Chinese partnership.

Peace through dialogue 

Xi’s state visit to Egypt came as the two countries marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and at a time when the Middle East continues to face persistent conflicts and mounting security challenges.

In talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Xi raised a four-point proposal on building a new security architecture in the Middle East via upholding a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. 

Liu said the proposal reflects a deeper understanding of the relationship between security and development. “Security without development is fragile, while development without security is unsustainable,” Liu said.

Wang Yi said that the visit has charted a new blueprint for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Egypt.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Xi is highly aligned with Egypt Vision 2030 put forward by Sisi, he said, adding that the two countries have achieved fruitful results in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Former Egyptian prime minister Essam Sharaf told the Global Times in an exclusive written interview 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.

“The region has experienced decades of conflict, and we have seen repeatedly that military solutions alone cannot bring lasting peace,” Sharaf said. China, he noted, brings a different perspective by stressing that security and development are closely connected, and that regional problems ultimately require political solutions shaped by the countries and peoples of the region themselves.

He said China’s contribution could lie in encouraging dialogue, reducing tensions and polarization, and helping create a regional environment in which peace, development and economic cooperation reinforce one another.

“In the end, sustainable peace needs development, and sustainable development needs peace,” Sharaf said.

A 25-year-old regional organization, a rapidly developing partnership with a neighboring country and a relationship marking 70 years of diplomatic ties, may appear to belong to different diplomatic contexts. Together, however, they point to the same question facing the international community: in a world of rising uncertainty, how can countries expand the certainty of peace and development? 

China’s answer is to turn dialogue into trust, trust into cooperation, and cooperation into a broader force for peace and development, Liu Xinlu said.