Xi Jinping is on a diplomatic marathon — and the timing matters. From Kyrgyzstan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to Egypt, BRICS in New Delhi and an expected meeting with Donald Trump, China’s president is building partnerships, expanding options and strengthening Beijing’s influence across the Global South. Xi Jinping | West Asia War | Xi Jinping Arrives In Cairo | Xi Jinping Egypt State Visit | China Egypt Relations | Xi Jinping Cairo Visit | Chinese President In Egypt | Xi Jinping Egypt Visit | China Egypt Partnership | China Egypt Ties | Egypt China Diplomatic Relations | Xi Jinping Latest News | Xi In Cairo | China Foreign Policy | Egypt State Visit | China Egypt Cooperation | China Diplomacy | Egypt Diplomacy | International Relations | Global News | World News | Diplomacy | Geopolitics | Foreign Policy #xijinping #china #egypt #cairo #chinaegypt #chinaegyptrelations #xiinegypt #statevisit #chinadiplomacy #egyptdiplomacy #chinanews #egyptnews #geopolitics #internationalrelations #globalnews #worldnews #diplomacy #geopolitics #foreignpolicy Why is Xi travelling so extensively now? China wants to show that it has markets, technology, infrastructure projects and diplomatic partners beyond Washington. From AI data centres in Egypt to transport corridors in Central Asia, Beijing is using trade and technology to deepen its global reach. BRICS and the SCO offer another platform to challenge Western dominance and promote greater use of local currencies. But India remains a crucial piece of this strategy. Can Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi stabilise ties despite years of border tensions? Meanwhile, Pakistan is using a very different strategy. Islamabad has officially pushed the term “Fitna al-Hindustan” for Baloch militant groups, framing the Baloch insurgency as an Indian-backed conflict. But can an internal crisis be rewritten simply by blaming an external enemy? This episode of Statecraft examines Xi’s diplomatic outreach, China’s Global South strategy, BRICS, India-China ties, Pakistan’s Balochistan narrative and the growing battle over geopolitical influence.
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00:08can diplomacy become a power play and can a country rewrite an internal crisis simply by
00:13changing the name of its enemy today two very different strategies chinese president xi jinping
00:19is on a diplomatic marathon strengthening ties across central asia egypt and the global south
00:26before meeting us president donald trump beijing wants to reach washington with options partners
00:32and leverage pakistan meanwhile has branded its baloch insurgency fitna al hindustan putting india
00:40at the center of an internal security crisis one builds influence through outreach the other builds
00:46a narrative through blame so who's really shaping the game hello and welcome you're watching state
00:52craft with me geeta mohan iran has found a rather cheeky way to taunt the united states of america
00:58over the strait of hormones by turning a potential war threat into a video game iran's embassy in sierra
01:04leone posted a 35 second minesweeper style video showing a 3d map of the strait of hormones with
01:11a familiar game grit and the message to washington was even more provocative it said and i quote
01:17habibi come to iran now why minesweeper because the real issue is mines the video appeared days after
01:25us forces struck iranian rocket launchers on laraq island inside the strait of hormones washington
01:31said the launchers were prepared to deploy mines into the waterway potentially putting international
01:36shipping at serious risk so tehran has taken america's warning and turned it into mockery
01:42the joke however sits on top of a very serious problem strait of hormones is one of the world's
01:49most important energy routes any mines placed there could threaten commercial ships raise insurance costs
01:56and send oil prices higher in other words this is not a computer screen where you simply click a square
02:03and move on one wrong move in hormuz can affect ships oil markets and economies far beyond west asia
02:11and iran knows exactly how powerful that message can be the video also shows something else the
02:17iran is not eager to appear intimidated by u.s military pressure instead it wants to project
02:23confidence and tell washington that the strait remains a dangerous game america sees mines iran
02:30sees a chance to mock america but for the rest of the world hormones is no game at all
02:36a 70 million euro arms deal meant to keep ukraine's artillery firing has now brought down estonia's
02:44defense minister hano pevkor has resigned taking political responsibility for a procurement deal
02:50that was supposed to deliver 155 mm artillery shells to ukraine but instead became embroiled in delays
02:57quality concerns legal action and a criminal investigation the deal was signed in 2024 ukraine was
03:06desperately short of artillery ammunition as its war with russia dragged on estonia used around 70
03:12million euros in european union funds to secure those shells the contract went to data cell an italian
03:21registered company owned by india's nakpur based nico defense munitions part of jaswal nico group but
03:28there was a problem neither data cell nor its indian parent had a prior track record of manufacturing
03:35or supplying artillery shells when the contract was awarded then came the delays and according to
03:42estonian authorities some early batches failed to meet required quality and safety standards estonia
03:48terminated the contract in 2025 it is now fighting to recover the money through european arbitration while
03:56prosecutors investigate the procurement process completely pevko's resignation followed a critical report by
04:03estonia's national audit office he said estonia security was a shared responsibility and that he had to take
04:11political responsibility for the entire defense field but the indian linked companies reject wrongdoing
04:18data cell says it delivered and invoiced goods worth 58 million euros after receiving 59 million euros in
04:26advance it claims the ammunition had been inspected by estonian officials and says the contract was
04:33halted after eu funding allegedly lapsed data cells is itself seeking tens of millions of euros in
04:40damages now a failed ammunition contract has become a political crisis in estonia with taxpayers money at
04:47stake a legal battle underway and questions over how a crucial wartime arms deal was approved in the first place
04:56now for an exclusive conversation on india u.s ties my colleague rohit sharma spoke to u.s ambassador to
05:01india
05:02sergio gore from president trump's expected india visit to trade deal defense cooperation and the future of
05:08the quad gore opened up on where the relationship stands and what comes next here's the excerpt you can
05:15watch the full interview on india today global take a look uh ambassador you know i have so many questions
05:21for you let's first dive into the quad sherpa meeting that took place in new delhi yesterday
05:26we did see the readout you know about uh the next goals and next objectives of this this meeting what
05:33can you tell us uh about the quad sherpa meeting and you know what can we expect from the next
05:39quad
05:39meeting and then obviously the big one which is going to be the quad leader summit sometime in the future
05:45absolutely look it was vitally important for everybody to get together here foreign secretary misery
05:50hosted all four parts of the quad and so our colleagues from japan and also australia flew in
05:58to new delhi for this very important meeting the quad is very important to all of us the quad what
06:04does
06:04the quad represent it is a group of partners that trust each other so for the united states it's very
06:09close allies including japan and australia and of course india and so the the meeting was essential this
06:16is ahead of the next meeting which will happen next month in sydney australia where secretary rubio will
06:23be traveling to meet his counterparts in sydney and as you mentioned hopefully leading into a leaders
06:28summit possibly even later this year that has not been set yet but that is something that all four
06:34are working towards the quad is working across various areas together and that includes humanitarian relief
06:42and disaster relief joint training and interoperability between all four partners so the more we get
06:50together the more we can advance part of the quad i don't know if your viewers might know this but
06:55it's actually relating to new technology new and emerging technology and so we discussed everything
07:01from ai to data centers to of course critical minerals there is so much that the quad can work together
07:07on
07:07and that's something that we have reinvigorated as you know the secretary was here in india a few
07:12months ago we had a quad meeting the secretary was in manila um just recently for the asean summit we
07:18had another quad ministerial meeting there anytime the four leaders are in a place we should have a quad
07:24meeting anytime the four ministers are in a place we should have a meeting and that's something that i strive
07:29to um push forward mr gaur you know we talked about trade and let's pivot towards one of the
07:36interesting aspects of defense a lot of people may not know this you know 26 years ago there was
07:41almost zero dollar of defense trade with india now we've seen that number climb up to more than
07:4620 25 billion dollars we recently saw the announcement of you know tata advanced systems
07:52for the javelin joint venture a big milestone something that you know india i know has been wanting
07:57to do for a long time about manufacturing co-manufacturing developing co-developing in india
08:01you know uh how does this help with the u.s goal especially when it comes to ramping up
08:08the global defense supply chains i mean is this something you know it's the first big milestone
08:14are we going to be seeing more such deals in the future okay it's a great question um our defense
08:20relationship is it's not just about sales it's also about trust the united states doesn't that doesn't
08:26just sell uh military equipment around the world to everybody and so india isn't a group of people
08:31that the united states trusts we believe we have the best equipment we have the best technology we
08:36have the most advanced technology and working with trusted partners like india is an incredible
08:40opportunity so whether that's the javelins that you mentioned or whether that's apache helicopters that
08:45got delivered um earlier in the year or various other items that that are in the works yes there is
08:51a
08:51lot more happening in defense sales and which is a good thing um but also the relationship is anchored
08:57on incredible trust incredible exercises just a few weeks from now the largest exercise here in india
09:03yuda bus will be happening in in rajasthan that's where the united states and india participate together
09:08india has more military exercises with the united states than any other country and we trust india
09:15and so that's something that that's an area we'll continue to grow we'll continue to engage in
09:18and again it also comes down to the friendship that our president has with your prime minister
09:22they truly have a real friendship and as you as you saw at the g7 a couple months ago in
09:28france
09:29the president was very clear as long as my friend prime minister modi is there
09:33india will be able to rely on the united states
09:45chinese president xi jinping has ended his self-isolation he's suddenly everywhere what
09:51does this global travel blitz mean for the trump showdown what does xi jinping do when the world
09:57is busy arguing about who should lead it he packs a suitcase china's president has launched his busiest
10:04foreign travel schedule in more than seven years kyrgyzstan egypt an expected stop in new delhi for the
10:11brick summit and then washington dc for a high-stakes meeting with donald trump that is not your usual
10:18diplomatic holiday she spent recent years bringing leaders to beijing rather than chasing them around
10:25the globe now suddenly he's everywhere why because beijing wants to show that china has friends
10:32markets technology and options before she sits across from trump so is this a victory lap a defensive
10:40move or both the answer starts in bishkek kyrgyzstan where xi jinping attended the shanghai cooperation
10:48organization or the seo summit and met president sadir japarov why does kyrgyzstan matter because
10:54central asia sits at the heart of china's regional connectivity push beijing is backing transport corridors
11:01energy infrastructure and the china kyrgyzstan uzbekistan railway in simple terms china wants the
11:07roads railways and trade routes around its western frontier to work in its favor the seo gave beijing
11:15something else a platform to build influence across a region once dominated by moscow she also met vladimir
11:22putin masood pozashkian and narendra modi so this is not just a photo op in bishkek xi jinping got
11:30access to key partners and insight into the wars in ukraine and iran more importantly he left central
11:37asia with china's diplomatic footprint looking bigger then came egypt why cairo because egypt gives
11:44china access to a crucial global south partner and a gateway between the mediterranean sea and the red
11:51sea beijing is also bringing something valuable to the table ai huawei wants to build ai data centers
11:58in egypt and that matters because china does not want its technology to stop at chinese borders
12:05beijing wants countries to use chinese ai models and buy chinese computing power the pitch is simple
12:11strong technology lower costs but is this genuine technological sovereignty or does the fine print come
12:19later here's the catch once a country builds critical digital infrastructure around one technology
12:25ecosystem switching becomes much harder china's telecom success offers the playbook huawei starts
12:33with a project gains a foothold and then expands washington clearly understands the stakes because
12:40u.s officials have started working on a counter offer to egypt so the ai fight is no longer just
12:47about
12:47who makes the best chatbot or the fastest computer chip it is about who builds the digital infrastructure
12:54other countries depend on and yes xi jinping and donald trump now have another job title salesman in
13:02chief next stop new delhi she is expected at the brics summit hosted by prime minister narendra modi
13:08why is this important because brics has expanded to 11 countries and represents nearly half the world's
13:15population and about 40 percent of global gdp china wants brics to push harder for de-dollarization
13:22local currency trade and payment systems that reduce dependence on the u.s dollar and swift
13:29india however has a different calculation new delhi supports south-south cooperation and reform of global
13:35institutions but it also maintains strong defense and economic ties with the u.s and other western
13:41partners so is brics becoming china's anti-western club not quite india does not want that the global south is
13:49not signing up for one team jersey it wants options and that brings us back to she and modi can
13:57one
13:57handshake in new delhi thaw years of himalayan tension it can help manage the relationship but it
14:03cannot magically erase the border problem after years of lse friction and economic recalibration direct
14:09engagement matters discussions around connectivity trade and broader cooperation can stabilize ties but the
14:17realistic goal is not instant friendship it is controlled friction why because an economic fight
14:24between asia's two major powers costs both sides so the likely outcome is simple manage the dispute keep
14:31talking and prevent one problem from wrecking everything else now zoom out what is the global south
14:38actually doing with xi's outreach is it rallying behind beijing the answer is more complicated and
14:45much smarter countries from central asia to egypt want chinese capital infrastructure technology and
14:52trade but they also maintain relationships with washington and other western powers they're hedging
14:58they're not necessarily choosing china over america they're using competition between the two to get
15:03better options for themselves in other words beijing and washington may think they're fighting over the
15:09middle while the middle quietly sends both sides the bill and finally why does washington come last
15:16because the sequence matters xi jinping does not want to arrive in washington looking isolated
15:22he wants to arrive after meetings across central asia north africa and the global south
15:28that gives him something valuable at the negotiating table options the message to trump is clear china
15:36has relationships beyond america and beijing has alternatives but can china actually build the
15:42alternative world order it talks about that is where the red carpet meets reality beijing can expand trade
15:50infrastructure ai regional institutions and local currency arrangements it can challenge western
15:56influence and strengthen platforms such as seo and bricks but building an alternative architecture
16:03is much harder than criticizing the existing one china still has to prove that its system can deliver
16:10durable partnerships technology and economic influence at global scale so why this diplomatic marathon
16:18now because xi jinping wants to reach washington dc with more than a suitcase he wants to carry
16:24proof that china has reach relationships technology and choices the tour is therefore neither a simple
16:31victory lap nor pure defensive diplomacy it is preparation for a bigger contest xi jinping is showing the
16:38global south what china can offer and showing donald trump that when he walks into the white house he's not
16:44walking in alone what if pakistan could make india the villain simply by changing the name of its enemy
16:52that is exactly what fitna al hindustan is designed to do a baloch militant attacks pakistani forces
16:59pakistan does not just call him a separatist it does not just call him a terrorist it calls him fitna
17:06al
17:06hindustan disorder from india one phrase one accusation one political message the baloch insurgency is no
17:16longer being presented simply as pakistan's internal crisis islamabad or ralpindi is trying to sell it
17:22as an indian war being fought on pakistani soil and this is not an accidental choice of words in may
17:302025 pakistan's interior ministry formally directed government bodies to use fitna al hindustan for insurgent
17:37organizations operating in balochistan think about what that means pakistan did not merely accuse india
17:45of supporting one particular attack it put the accusation inside the official name of an entire
17:51category of enemies and that changes the game because once india is inserted into the name the
17:58accusation comes before the evidence every pakistani military statement mentioning fitna al hindustan
18:04carries two messages pakistan has killed militants and india is supposedly behind them the operation is
18:12military the narrative is political the timing makes the strategy even clearer on the 21st of august pakistan's
18:19military said 49 militants had been killed across khyber paktonkwa and balochistan 37 of those killed in
18:26balochistan were labeled fitna al hindustan then on 24th of august the baloch liberation army claimed an
18:34ied attack in mastung alleging that 13 pakistani soldiers had been killed another attack another opportunity
18:43to push the same story but here's the problem with pakistan's narrative baloch
18:49hendustan did not suddenly become unstable because of india its insurgency is decades old its roots run
18:55through disputes over political representation provincial autonomy and natural resources allegations
19:02of disappearances uneven development and course of state policy have also fueled anger so it cannot
19:09simply be erased from history and replaced with three words fitnal hindustan and that is precisely why
19:16the phrase is so politically convenient if the problem is india pakistan does not have to answer a much
19:22harder question why after decades of military operations does balochistan remain so unstable why does
19:30militancy keep returning why do grievances keep surviving it is easier to blame delhi than confront failures
19:38within pakistan in balochistan and that is the real power of fitnal hindustan it gives pakistan
19:45an external author for an internal problem but islamabad is not speaking only to pakistanis it is
19:52speaking to the world india has spent years telling the international community that pakistan sponsors
19:58cross-border terrorism after pehelgam terror attacks that argument gained renewed urgency pakistan now has
20:06an obvious counter strategy if india says pakistan sponsors terrorism pakistan says india sponsors terrorism
20:14if india presents itself as the victim of pakistan-backed terror pakistan then now presents itself as the
20:20victim of indian-backed terror and this is where the phrase becomes dangerous for an international
20:27audience unfamiliar with south asia's history repetition can create equivalence two accusations two victims two
20:36supposedly identical stories but equal repetition does not make two claims equally proven india has
20:44already recognized the threat at the united nations security council in june india's permanent
20:49representative ambassador p harish criticized pakistan's use of fatna al hindustan calling it
20:56state-sponsored misinformation wrapped in religious terminology and balochistan is far too important for
21:03that story to be accepted without scrutiny it borders iran and afghanistan it has a long arabian sea
21:10coastline it hosts guadar and sits at the heart of the china-pakistan economic corridor chinese
21:17workers and projects have repeatedly been targeted by militants this is a regional security crisis not
21:24simply an india-pakistan story you see the real battle is now over the narrative pakistan wants the world to
21:31ask how is india destabilizing pakistan india needs the world to ask why does balochistan remain unstable
21:38after decades of pakistani military operations those are two very different questions because in
21:44geopolitics words are not harmless a phrase enters a government document then a military statement then a
21:51diplomatic speech then international reporting and eventually repetition begins to look like reality
21:57that is the gamble behind fitna al hindustan pakistan is not merely accusing india anymore it is
22:04institutionalizing the accusation it is putting india inside the name of its enemy and once you rename
22:11the enemy you can begin to rewrite the war that's all in this edition of statecraft before we go news
22:17from pakistan pakistan's khyber pakhtunkwa chief minister sohail afridi has claimed that the people of
22:23sindh sindh are ready for change after years of what he called injustice addressing a pti rally in
22:30ghodki afridi said imran khan would help sindh secure its rights and claimed the zardari rule was nearing
22:37its end he also announced a nationwide mobilization on 27th of september saying supporters would take to
22:43the streets from karachi to gilgit baltistan pti leaders accused the sindh government of oppression and vowed to
22:50fight for the province's water land and political rights take a look goodbye and take care
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23:25Let's go, let's go, let's go!
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