Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Tianjin on Sunday for a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The gathering will bring together leaders from around 20 nations, including India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asian states, making it the bloc’s largest meeting since its founding in 2001.
The summit comes just days before China stages a military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
Putin backs “multipolar” world order
In an interview with China’s Xinhua, Putin said the summit would “strengthen the SCO’s capacity to respond to contemporary challenges and threats” and promote “a fairer multipolar world order.”
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The SCO, which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asian states, is often framed as a counterweight to NATO and Western-led alliances.
China, Russia push alternative bloc
Analysts say the meeting underscores Beijing and Moscow’s efforts to expand influence amid strained ties with the U.S. and Europe.
“China has long sought to present the SCO as a non-Western-led power bloc,” said Dylan Loh of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, describing it as “a Chinese-inflected multilateral order.”
More than 20 heads of state are attending, including Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, in what observers say highlights Beijing’s growing clout.
Sidelines diplomacy
Xi met Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Cambodia’s Hun Manet on Saturday, with further bilateral talks expected. Putin is set to meet Erdogan and Pezeshkian on Monday to discuss Ukraine and Iran’s nuclear programme.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi also arrived in Tianjin on Saturday, marking his first visit to China since 2018. The trip comes amid trade tensions with the U.S. and a cautious thaw in relations with Beijing following the 2020 border clash.
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