When French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to China in early December for his fourth state visit, the itinerary began with the expected formalities. There was a red carpet reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and high-level talks with President Xi Jinping on trade, technology and Ukraine.

But the defining image of this diplomatic trip did not take place in the capital. Rather, it occurred more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away in Chengdu, Sichuan province. There, Xi hosted Macron for a rare instance of “no-tie diplomacy,” a term used by Chinese media to describe a relaxed and informal style of statecraft.

Stepping outside the rigid protocols of Beijing, Xi personally guided Macron through the mist-covered mountains of Sichuan. The walk held high significance: It marked the first time Xi has hosted a foreign leader for such an informal sightseeing meeting outside the capital, with an itinerary that included the Dujiangyan irrigation system, a visit to China’s national table tennis team and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Global attention remains understandably fixed on “hard” issues — trade tariffs, the war in Ukraine and nuclear energy. But as a cultural historian of modern China, I believe the choreography of this visit offers a vital window into Beijing’s diplomatic strategy. By foregrounding things like ancient waterways and table tennis, China is deploying a sophisticated brand of cultural statecraft designed to soften the edges of a hardening geopolitical landscape.

The choice to host Macron in Chengdu was not random, but a carefully curated act of diplomatic reciprocity. In........

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