Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed heads of state, including President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and observers to the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, closely watched by the West.
This year’s gathering has drawn heightened attention against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine, simmering trade tensions following US tariffs on China and India, and shifting global energy markets.
The summit aimed to put China at the front and center of regional relations. For Putin, it was an opportunity to send a message to the West. Speaking to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Saturday, he said that the SCO summit would “consolidate solidarity” among the Eurasian nations and “help shape a fairer multipolar world order.”
It was also a chance to rebuild trust between India and China over long-running border disputes. Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for talks on the sidelines of the summit. It was Modi’s first time in China in seven years. After the talks with the Chinese leader, Modi said they were held in an “atmosphere of peace and stability” between them.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization function
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. Sixteen more countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.” Its function is largely symbolic but provides an opportunity for its members to exchange views and share common interests and goals.
However, this year’s SCO summit has turned into a diplomatic affair, especially with regard to India and Russia. Beijing is seen as trying to approach India now that US-India relations have become tense after the 50 percent tariffs slapped on Indian goods due to Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Chinese officials seem to worry about the elevation of the Quad security dialogue between India, the United States and its allies, Australia and Japan, which is widely seen as a bid to counter China.
According to a CNN report, Xi’s approach to Modi on Sunday aimed to highlight the common goals of the two countries, which are currently at “critical stages of development and rejuvenation,” and to call for them to “focus on development as their greatest common denominator, supporting and advancing each other,” according to a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry.
China’s President also stressed a point made earlier by President of Russia Vladimir Putin about the need to make the international order more “multipolar,” meaning that power should be more broadly shared instead of being dominated by the US and its allies in the West.
Warm rapport between China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin
Earlier, the Russian President had used the word “multipolar” to describe the aim of the SCO countries to not depend on the US and the West for world security matters.
Putin is feeling the pressure for the war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing for three and a half years, and the SCO serves as his greatest weapon at the time. Xi, on the other hand, showed a warm rapport with the Russian President. Footage released by Russian state news agency RIA showed the two men having a congenial and often warmly animated conversation, atypical of China’s leader.
The footage also showed the two leaders walking shoulder to shoulder together after the typical photo opportunity alongside other heads of state, with Xi gesturing for Putin to walk with him.
