Foreign leaders' China visits shore up mutual benefits

A recent comment made by Canadian Minister of Industry Melanie Joly may help explain the China travel rush among foreign leaders at the beginning of this year.

"The conversations here have been more predictable and stable than sometimes with other countries, including our neighbor," Joly told reporters in Beijing earlier this month when accompanying Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on his official visit to China.

In the first month of 2026, leaders of nations in Asia, Europe and North America have traveled to China to discuss reinforcing bilateral ties and expanding pragmatic cooperation.

Observers said one major reason behind the visits is that Beijing projects great predictability and consistency in its domestic and foreign policies, signaling tangible and continued mutual benefits in a world plagued by soaring geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and hegemony.

The latest guest is Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who is on a four-day official visit to China that concludes on Wednesday.

"Greetings from Beijing," Orpo wrote in a social media post, saying that his trip, on which he is being accompanied by Finnish corporate leaders, will also help his country's businesses better tap into the Asian market.

The China travel rush is set to extend into next month, as Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi will make a state visit to China from Sunday to Feb 7, the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

Media outlets in the United Kingdom and Germany have reported that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are also planning to visit China soon.

The first head of state and the first foreign minister that Beijing received in 2026 both came from neighboring countries — Republic of Korea President Lee Jae-myung and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

After President Xi Jinping's meeting with Lee on Jan 5, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation documents covering fields including scientific and technological innovation, transportation and trade.

The official visit by Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, from Jan 4 to 8, was the first by an Irish prime minister in 14 years, giving fresh momentum to both bilateral and China-European Union ties.

Describing his five-day China visit as "a very positive experience", Martin told China Daily on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that "China is a very strong economic force in the world" with huge manufacturing capacity and a huge consumer market.

"My main takeaway was the very significant interest on behalf of the Chinese government in terms of trade with Europe, their desire to create a framework between Europe and China that would facilitate a more stable and sustainable trading relationship and the avoidance of tit-for-tat measures," he said.

Martin said that the visits to China by leaders of European countries — the recent visits and those being planned — indicate engagement between China and European governments.

From Jan 14 to 17, Canadian Prime Minister Carney made an official visit to China, the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years. The two sides issued a joint statement of the China-Canada leaders' meeting, vowing to advance outcomes in areas including trade, energy, public security, culture and multilateralism.

The visits to China have helped nations, and will help more countries, improve their perception of China and rediscover the vast potential of the Chinese market, experts said.

Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong told a symposium last week that this year marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period and that China "will further step up its high-level opening-up".

Wang Huiyao, president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, said the visits to China take place as unilateral bullying practices "have sparked widespread concern in the international community", and "the momentum of unilateralism is on the rise in transatlantic relations".

Taking Canada as an example, Wang said the rebound in China-Canada relations "is both a testament to the strategic wisdom of both sides and a natural choice that aligns with public opinion and market realities".

Gao Fei, president of China Foreign Affairs University, said that countries clearly know who are serving as stabilizers in this volatile world, and "China is the most predictable one among major countries".

As many countries speak positively of China's role in peace, stability and growth, some of their leaders visited in the new year to learn more about China's wisdom and solutions, he added.

As part of efforts by working teams from China and these countries to realize the leaders' fresh consensus, Chinese and ROK officials last week embarked on the 13th round of follow-up negotiations on services and investment under the China-ROK Free Trade Agreement.

Wang Junsheng, a researcher on Northeast Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Institute of International Strategy, said, "The global industrial supply chain is being disrupted by trade protectionism, so stable cooperation between the ROK and China in supply chain-related sectors is also of utmost importance."

Wang Mingjie?in London contributed to this story.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn