context: From 4–15 April, over the course of just more than ten days, a number of foreign leaders and senior officials visited the PRC, including Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vietnamese President Tô Lâm and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The wave of high-level visits to Beijing began at the start of 2026.
While the world faces disorder and turbulence, the PRC remains relatively stable, argued Jin Canrong 金灿荣 Renmin University School of International Studies deputy dean in an interview with Guanchazhe. He stated that the PRC maintains internal stability and serves as a stabilising force internationally.
As the spillover effects of the Iran conflict continue to expand, Jin noted, more countries are seeing their economic development and national security affected. They hope for collective international efforts to restore peace, and believe the PRC can play a key role. In Jin's opinion, this is the fundamental reason behind the recent wave of high-level visits to Beijing.
Jin made observations on
- Vietnamese president Tô Lâm's visit
- Tô Lâm’s visit comes just after his re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
- Tô Lâm needs to stabilise bilateral relations with the PRC
- Vietnam
- is very pragmatic
- seeks to maintain good relations with all major powers
- understands that its top priority is economic development and that the PRC is the most capable of supporting this goal
- Vietnam's core objective in this visit is its own development
- Vietnam's visit is also closely related to the Iran crisis
- Vietnam is highly dependent on supplies of oil and gas and has extremely limited domestic reserves
- Tô Lâm’s visit aimed to
- strengthen bilateral relations with the PRC
- leverage the PRC's support for economic development
- stabilise party-to-party relations
- support domestic political stability
- seek energy support from the PRC
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's visit
- European allies, including Spain, have not supported the operation against Iran
- Spain has taken the firmest stance, and the US has taken punitive measures against it
- Sánchez visited the PRC for the fourth time in four years
- the visit yielded tangible results, with the two sides signing a series of cooperation agreements, which will promote PRC–Spain economic and trade cooperation and inject positive momentum into Spain's economic development
- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's visit
- aside from parties directly involved in the conflict, Gulf countries are among the primary victims of the conflict’s spillover effects, with the UAE particularly hard hit
- oil production in Abu Dhabi is nearing stagnation, placing enormous pressure on the UAE economy
- capital has been rapidly flowing out of the UAE
- within a month, an estimated over US$300 bn has left, moving to Hong Kong, Singapore, London, etc.
- the UAE is eager to stabilise the situation and seeks the PRC’s support
- aside from parties directly involved in the conflict, Gulf countries are among the primary victims of the conflict’s spillover effects, with the UAE particularly hard hit
- Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand's visit
- this visit likely also reflects economic considerations, given Thailand's dependence on Gulf oil
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit
- this visit is more complex and aims at coordinating PRC and Russian positions on various international issues, including Iran
Jin also spoke about the spillover effects of the war
- victims
- Ukraine
- US assistance has further declined
- numerous Asian countries (except the PRC)
- disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz severely impact Asian economies, including South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia
- poorer countries in the developing world
- Ukraine
- beneficiaries
- Russia is undoubtedly one of the biggest winners, as soaring oil prices have significantly increased its revenues and improved its economic conditions
- other oil-producing countries outside the Gulf, such as Kazakhstan, Angola and Brazil, have likewise benefited
Jin added that although the international community hopes Beijing can play a greater role in any issue involving war and peace, the extent of the role the PRC can play depends on the specific timing, circumstances, and region
- in regions surrounding the PRC, its role is highly prominent
- in slightly more distant regions (e.g. the Middle East), the PRC can still play a certain role
- in regions further away (e.g. Latin America or Europe), the PRC's capacity to act is relatively limited