Chinese President and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping is expected to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a visit the neighboring Central Asian nations of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this month, in what would be his first overseas visits since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019.
Xi, 69, has participated in global gatherings by video link, but his physical absence and those of other top Chinese leaders has thrown a shadow over Beijing’s global political and economic ambitions. Xi has only left mainland China to make a one-day visit to the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong on July 1 to speak at a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule. Xi has overseen a sweeping crackdown on civil rights in the city since pro-democracy protests in 2019, with opposition voices either imprisoned, forced into exile or intimidated into silence.
