Published: 27 Aug 2025

Author: Sense Hofstede

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has taken a personal interest in driving high-level visits to Southeast Asia. This reflects the region’s growing importance and Beijing’s bid to manage global uncertainty.

Several Southeast Asian leaders are likely to attend China’s 80th Second World War victory anniversary parade in Beijing on 3 September. The higher seniority of spectators in 2025 compared to the 70th anniversary parade in 2015 is a testament to the region’s growing ties with China. This article contributes some hard data on bilateral interactions to examine the politics behind Beijing’s uneven yet developed attention to the region.

For full article, please open the link:

https://fulcrum.sg/chinas-overtures-to-southeast-asia-xi-takes-the-lead/

The article was published by ISEAS.

IRSEA and ISEAS have agreed to enter into a relationship of cooperation.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or view of IRSEA