Tianjin, China – Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed world leaders on Saturday, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, ahead of a major summit featuring representatives from over 20 countries.
This gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will take place in the northern port city of Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, just a few days before a significant military parade in Beijing commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II. Notably, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to participate in the parade alongside other global leaders.
The SCO includes countries such as China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, with an additional 16 countries acting as observers or dialogue partners. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also expected to arrive in Tianjin for the summit.
China and Russia have leveraged this organization to strengthen ties with Central Asian nations, presenting it as an alternative to NATO’s Western influence. Important leaders, including the presidents of Iran and Turkey, will join the largest meeting of the SCO since its establishment in 2001.
Aside from the main discussions, several bilateral meetings are anticipated. The Kremlin announced that Putin will meet with President Erdogan on Monday to talk about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Turkey has facilitated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine this year, but efforts to resolve the situation have so far not succeeded.
Putin is also scheduled to discuss Iran’s nuclear program with President Masoud Pezeshkian. This meeting comes as Iran faces renewed pressure from the West, following the UK, France, and Germany’s decision to reinstate UN sanctions due to Iran’s failure to meet obligations from a 2015 nuclear deal. Russia’s foreign ministry has cautioned that these sanctions could lead to serious consequences.
In recent years, Iran and Russia have strengthened their political and economic ties, especially as Russia’s connections with the West have weakened.
Modi’s visit follows his recent trip to Japan and marks his first return to China since 2018, amid the rivalry between the two most populous countries. They are both vying for influence in South Asia and had a serious border conflict in 2020. However, relations began to improve last October when Modi met with Xi for the first time in five years during a summit in Russia.
