Chinese President Xi Jinping is embarking on an unusually active period of international diplomacy, with a state visit to Egypt and a possible trip to India expected ahead of a planned visit to the United States in late September.

Xi has significantly reduced his overseas travel in recent years, making the packed diplomatic schedule an important indication of Beijing’s evolving foreign policy priorities, analysts say.

The Chinese leader has traveled abroad only once previously this year, making a state visit to North Korea in June — his first trip there in seven years. By contrast, Beijing has hosted more than 20 foreign leaders during the first half of the year, including U.S. President Donald Trump.

Xi’s renewed diplomatic activity comes amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, including the Iran war, persistent U.S.-China trade tensions, concerns over global supply chains and emerging security risks associated with artificial intelligence.

Chinese foreign policy experts say Beijing increasingly sees an opportunity to assume a greater role in addressing international challenges.

Hai Zhao, director of international political studies at the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China should take greater responsibility and provide more “global public goods.”

He argued that China’s deep integration into the global economy makes Beijing an important part of efforts to address issues ranging from supply-chain security and cybersecurity to maintaining energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Xi arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Sunday ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. The security-focused gathering brings together leaders from several major non-Western countries, including Russia and India.

As part of the same trip, Xi is scheduled to make his first state visit to Egypt in a decade. China has expanded its economic presence in the country in recent years, particularly around the strategically important Suez Canal, where the two countries have developed an economic and trade cooperation zone.

Attention will then turn to India, where Xi is expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, although Beijing has not formally confirmed his participation.

If the visit goes ahead, it would mark Xi’s first trip to India since 2019 and his first since deadly clashes along the disputed China-India border in 2020 severely strained relations between the two Asian powers.

Xi is also expected to travel to the United States later in September, adding another high-profile diplomatic engagement at a time when Beijing is seeking to strengthen its influence in an increasingly divided global order.