When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France this week, the world’s conflicts were top of mind. Press reports tended to fixate on whether French President Emmanuel Macron could press Xi to distance himself from Russia. But ultimately, the leaders’ focus drifted farther south.

In a wide-ranging joint statement, Xi and Macron “expressed their opposition to an Israeli offensive on Rafah,” called for an “immediate and sustainable ceasefire,” railed against the possibility of regional escalation, and even endorsed the idea of a worldwide truce to coincide with this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

The statement reflected a remarkable shift in China’s diplomatic approach to the world — or, perhaps more precisely, a remarkable shift in how powerful states now treat Beijing. After decades of playing a secondary role in world politics, China is now getting used to the great power treatment, making itself visible wherever diplomacy is happening.

Examples abound: Last year, China sent shockwaves through Washington when it oversaw the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a major step in reducing tensions between two of the most hostile powers in the Middle East. And, as the war in Ukraine drags on, China has dispatched a special envoy to push for negotiations, securing high-level meetings with officials on both sides of the conflict.