Belarus Xi, Putin and Co. show unity against the West at summit
At the summit of the Russia-friendly Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China called for unity in the face of conflicts and trade disputes. The world is experiencing changes not seen for a century, with significantly increasing instability and uncertainty, said state and party leader Xi Jinping at the evening gala dinner in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.
31.08.2025, 16:25
SDA
The SCO bears an even greater responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the region, he emphasized in front of numerous heads of state and government, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who greeted Xi warmly with a handshake. On his arrival at the banquet, Xi chatted with his "old friend" Putin, as he often calls him. The Russian stood next to Xi in the family photo. The organization is largely dominated by leaders of authoritarian systems, which are also criticized internationally for human rights violations.
Meeting of "old friends"
Once again, the summit offered Putin, who is isolated in part of the West due to his war of aggression against Ukraine, a platform to showcase his good relations with China and other countries in Asia. As in China, however, US President Donald Trump recently rolled out the red carpet for Putin at a summit in Alaska. However, Putin's four-day visit to China is not about the West anyway, but about building a multipolar world order, as he explained in an interview with the Chinese state agency Xinhua.
Putin will stay in China for several days to attend a military parade in the nearby Chinese capital Beijing on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in the Second World War, together with North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un, among others.
China is regarded as Russia's most important backer in the war against Ukraine, as Beijing has not yet condemned Moscow's actions and has supported Russian demands in its own proposals for a solution to the conflict. In addition, according to accusations from Western countries, China supplies Russia with goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, thereby supporting the Russian arms industry.
Thaw after diplomatic ice age
The talks between Xi and Modi also came under scrutiny. As a sign of improving relations, Xi called for closer cooperation with India. China and India are partners, not rivals, Xi told Modi. Both countries represented development opportunities for each other and not threats. Modi praised the "fruitful" meeting with Xi.
After years of diplomatic ice age, the two most populous countries in the world are getting closer again. The reason for the bad mood is a decades-long dispute over a region in the Himalayas, which Beijing believes is in the south of Tibet and New Delhi believes is in the north of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2020, soldiers from both sides clashed there - 20 Indians and 4 Chinese died. As a result, relations between the two nuclear powers deteriorated. "We agreed that it is important to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas," Modi wrote on the online platform X after the meeting in Tianjin.
Danger for US relations with India?
It was Modi's first visit to China in seven years. He had previously agreed with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba in Japan to double private investment over the next ten years. Modi is likely to have traveled to China with plenty of resentment over the trade dispute with the USA. A few days ago, US President Trump doubled the tariff on imports from India to 50 percent due to its oil deals with Russia.
Some observers see Modi's visit to China as a signal of rapprochement. However, many consider it unlikely that New Delhi will turn away from Washington due to the importance of the USA for India, including in geopolitical matters.
What China intends to do with the SCO
The SCO was founded 24 years ago as an organization for the fight against terrorism and economic cooperation. It now has ten member states, including founding countries such as Russia, China and Kazakhstan as well as India, Pakistan, Iran since 2023 and Belarus since 2024. The organization is thus a kind of counterweight to Western alliances. The summit in Tianjin is intended to demonstrate strength and unity.
After all, many SCO states currently have in common that they are at odds with the USA and President Trump over tariffs and trade. The bloc wants to show itself to be open and inclusive in front of the SCO dialog partners also present, such as Turkey with President Erdoğan. China hopes that the countries can create a "favorable environment for lasting peace" through the summit, Beijing said ahead of the meeting.
An alliance on shaky ground
China is demonstrating its role in international relations with the summit, says Claus Soong from the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Research (Merics). However, it also shows that it has friends despite the intensifying competition between China and the USA and the increasing alienation.
In Soong's view, the SCO does not have a solid basis for cohesion among its member states. The reason for this is different geopolitical interests, explains Soong. In the past, cracks have repeatedly appeared in the group's unity due to disputes between individual members. According to some analysts, Beijing therefore wants to prove that it is also capable of bringing rivals to the table.
