Over the course of just seven days, Beijing rolled out the full red carpet for two consecutive heads of state: first former U.S. President Donald Trump, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Each arrival mirrored the other in ceremonial grandeur: cheering crowds of schoolchildren, full military honor guards, cannon salutes, and marching bands escorting the visiting leaders to the Great Hall of the People. For China’s top leader Xi Jinping, this back-to-back display of high-profile diplomacy was far from a coincidence – it was a deliberate projection of a new global posture: Beijing is open to dialogue with all major powers, and bound to none.