China's Xi at centre of world stage after days of high-level hobnobbing

China's President Xi Jinping (2nd L) holds a bilateral meeting with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic (not pictured) at The Great Hall of People in Beijing on September 4, 2025. President Xi has held talks with almost 30 world leaders around the edges of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin and a huge military parade marking 80 years since World War II's end. (Photo by Lintao Zhang / POOL / AFP)