The only trip of the head of China abroad in 2023 was a visit to Russia

Prior to the start of the covid pandemic , Xi Jinping made an average of 14 foreign trips a year. In 2022, after a break, he visited five countries and spent 13 days abroad. In the first half of 2023, the figure fell to two days Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin

In 2023, Chinese leader Xi Jinping spent only two days outside his country, according to BLOOMBERG , which analyzed government records of his meetings with foreign leaders.

Xi's only foreign trip since the beginning of the year was his visit to RUSSIA on March 20-22. He met with President Vladimir Putin, the heads of state adopted joint documents, including those on deepening partnerships and strategic interaction entering a new era.

According to the agency, two days in six months is the minimum period of time during which the Chinese leader has been abroad since coming to power , not counting the period of the covid-19 pandemic .

According to the schedule prepared by the agency, for the whole of 2020, Xi visited one country, the trip lasted two days. In 2021, he did not travel outside of CHINA. In 2022, the HEAD of state visited five countries (the first trip after the pandemic was a visit to Kazakhstan ) and spent 13 days abroad. Between 2013 and 2019, he made an average of 14 foreign trips per year. For comparison: former US President Donald Trump during his tenure in office (January 2017-January 2021) was abroad 12 times a year on average.

Now, Xi Jinping prefers to host high-ranking representatives of other states. This year, he met in Beijing with representatives from 36 countries, including France, Eritrea and the United States. However, Bloomberg draws attention to the fact that the number of his personal meetings with foreign politicians and officials in China is also declining: before the pandemic, he met with an average of 48 people.

The agency writes that such a trend could prevent Beijing from competing with Washington in the fight for "global influence." This comes as the perception of China on the international stage is deteriorating due to its foreign policy, the agency notes, citing a survey by the Pew Research Center.

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Bloomberg attributes the decline in foreign visits to domestic problems in China: the economy is struggling with deflation, Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been removed from office, and an anti-corruption investigation is underway against several generals of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) rocket troops.

Part of the reduction in the number of trips is also due to the schedule of international events: for example, the G20 summit will be held in the second half of the year - in September in New Delhi. Xi is expected to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously confirmed his personal involvement there; Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the summit online . The South African authorities had previously asked the president not to come because of a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal COURT. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Xi's participation in the APEC leaders' summit in San Francisco in November is still in doubt, the agency writes.