Xi Says World Order ‘Crumbling Into Disarray’ as War Takes Toll

Xi Jinping meets with Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on April 14.Photographer: Haruna Furuhashi/Pool/Getty Images

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By Daniel Basteiro and Lucille Liu

April 14, 2026 at 4:40 AM UTC

Updated on

April 14, 2026 at 7:59 AM UTC

Chinese President Xi Jinping lamented a world in “disarray,” using some of his strongest language yet to describe a collapse of the Western-led international order as he vowed to play a constructive role in the Middle East.

“The international order is crumbling into disarray,” Xi told Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday in Beijing, using a Chinese phrase indicating not only chaos but also moral decay.