On Monday, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin used a gathering of Eurasian leaders to criticize the West, with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) positioning itself as a non-Western alternative for regional collaboration. The summit aimed to place Beijing at the center of regional relations.
In his address to leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi described the global situation as increasingly “chaotic and intertwined.” The Chinese leader also condemned “bullying behavior” by certain countries, a thinly veiled reference to the United States. Speaking in the northern port city of Tianjin, he said, “The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging.” He urged the bloc to “continue to follow the Shanghai spirit…and better perform the functions of the organisation” amid global turbulence.
Putin used his speech to defend Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, blaming a “coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” for triggering the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Ukraine’s foreign ministry, in a statement from Kyiv, urged China to work toward peace during Putin’s visit, saying they “would welcome a more active role” for Beijing to help find peace “based on respect for the UN Charter.” Meanwhile, Putin praised Turkey’s mediation efforts in the conflict during his meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Kremlin also announced that Putin later met his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, with discussions expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program.
“Always Insightful”
Earlier, the leaders of the 10 member states—China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus—posed for a group photo. Xi, Putin, and Modi were seen chatting, flanked by their translators. Modi and Putin were photographed holding hands and held talks in the afternoon. Russian state media reported the two spent nearly an hour talking “face-to-face” in Putin’s armored presidential car before an official meeting. Modi posted on X, “Conversations with him are always insightful,” along with a photograph of them traveling together. Before their meeting, Modi praised the “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Moscow and added that India wanted both sides in the Ukraine conflict to “find stable peace.”
“Mutual Trust”
The SCO summit began on Sunday, days before a massive military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. According to China’s Xinhua news agency, the member states signed a declaration on Monday agreeing to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as security and the economy. Xinhua also reported that the leaders admitted Laos as an observer country, or “dialogue partner.” Xi held a series of back-to-back meetings with leaders, including Lukashenko—a staunch Putin ally—and Modi, who is on his first visit to China since 2018.
Modi told Xi that India was committed to advancing their relationship “based on mutual trust, dignity, and sensitivity.” The world’s two most populous nations have been intense rivals, competing for influence across South Asia and fighting a deadly border clash in 2020. A thaw began last October when Modi met Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia. Their rapprochement deepened as US President Donald Trump pressured both Asian economic giants with trade tariffs. More than 20 leaders are attending the bloc’s largest meeting since it was founded in 2001. Many of the assembled dignitaries will be in Beijing on Wednesday to watch the military parade, which will also be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A train carrying Kim passed into China early Tuesday, as reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
