TIANJIN, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and leaders from across Asia and the Middle East this weekend at a high-profile Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit aimed at presenting Beijing as a central force in global leadership.
The two-day gathering in Tianjin has been billed as the largest in SCO history and comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars and shifting alliances create uncertainty in the Western-led order. With more than 40 percent of the world’s population represented, the SCO has become a platform for China and Russia to promote what they describe as a more “multipolar” world order.
For Xi, the summit is both diplomatic showcase and symbolic, set in a port city once marked by colonial concessions. The event highlights China’s ability to convene regional rivals at one table, reinforcing its image as an indispensable convener in Eurasia. For Putin, the meeting offers a stage to counter international isolation over Ukraine, while Modi’s attendance signals a potential recalibration in India’s ties with Beijing amid its strained relations with Washington.
Member states include China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and five Central Asian nations, with delegations from Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian partners also attending. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is among the international guests.
Putin praised China-Russia cooperation ahead of his arrival, calling it a “stabilizing force” and stressing their shared goal of building a “just, multipolar world order.” Meanwhile, banners in Chinese, English and Russian decorated Tianjin as authorities tightened security and prepared for the traditional pageantry of high-level Chinese diplomacy.
Some leaders, including Putin, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are expected to remain in Beijing for a major military parade showcasing China’s growing defense capabilities and marking 80 years since the end of World War II.
Formed in 2001, the SCO has expanded from a regional security bloc to a broader forum for political and economic cooperation, though analysts remain skeptical of its effectiveness given internal divisions. The group regularly condemns Western military interventions but has yet to agree on a joint stance over conflicts such as the war in Ukraine or skirmishes between member states themselves.
The summit underscores how Beijing and Moscow are using the SCO to build influence as Trump unsettles traditional U.S. alliances, offering an alternative vision of international order to countries wary of Western dominance.