Relations between the Timurid state and the Ming China of the Yongle Emperor have normalized during Shah Rukh's rule, as compared to the era of Timur and the Hongwu Emperor, who had nearly started a war (which had been averted only due to the death of Timur).

Chinese embassies, led by Chen Cheng, had visited Samarkand and Herat several times in 1414-1420, while a large embassy sent by Shah Rukh (and immortalized by its diarist, Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh) travels to China in 1419-1422.