Xi to Host Modi and Putin at Major Security Summit in China
Chinese President Xi Jinping will welcome more than 20 world leaders to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, in what analysts see as a show of Global South unity and support for sanctions-hit Russia, as reported by Reuters.
Among the attendees are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking Modi’s first trip to China in over seven years. The visit comes after deadly 2020 border clashes and as the two Asian powers pursue a fragile détente.
«Xi will want to use the summit as an opportunity to showcase what a post-American-led international order begins to look like,» said Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project, noting that blocs like BRICS and the SCO are designed to challenge U.S. influence.
The SCO, founded in 2001, has grown from six members to 10, with 16 observer and dialogue partners. While initially focused on counterterrorism, it now covers economic and military cooperation. Still, analysts caution that its «implementation is fuzzy» and that divisions, such as between India and Pakistan, limit effectiveness.
Despite these challenges, experts say the optics are powerful. Manoj Kewalramani of India’s Takshashila Institution called the SCO «a platform with increasing convening power, which helps in narrative projection.»
On the sidelines, Xi and Modi are expected to announce small steps on trade, visa rules, and troop withdrawals along their disputed border. For Modi, whose government faces renewed tariff pressure from Washington, easing tensions with Beijing is a priority.
«This summit is about optics, really powerful optics,» Olander said.
Putin will remain in China after the summit to attend a World War Two military parade in Beijing, marking a rare extended trip abroad for the Russian leader.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he hopes to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un again this year, as he welcomed South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, to the White House.
