BEIJING, China: Chinese President Xi Jinping will host more than 20 world leaders at a regional security summit in China next week. The summit aims to display unity among Global South nations during a period of global instability.
It will also give heavily sanctioned Russia a fresh diplomatic platform.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. Attendees include Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first trip to China in over seven years will be a highlight. His visit comes as India and China work to reduce tensions after deadly border clashes in 2020. Modi last appeared alongside Xi and Putin at the 2023 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where most Western leaders shunned Putin due to the Ukraine war. Russian officials in New Delhi said Moscow hopes the three nations will hold trilateral talks soon.
Analysts say Xi will use the meeting to project an alternative world order that is less dominated by the United States. "Xi will want to show that despite U.S. efforts this year to push back against China, Iran, Russia, and now India, these efforts have not worked," said Eric Olander of The China-Global South Project. He noted that groupings such as BRICS and the SCO are meant to unsettle U.S. leadership, something that has particularly rattled former U.S. President Donald Trump.
China's foreign ministry says this will be the SCO's most prominent summit since its founding in 2001. The bloc began as six Eurasian states focused on security and counterterrorism, but now has 10 members and 16 dialogue and observer countries. Its agenda has expanded to include economic and military cooperation.
Even so, experts say results have been limited. "The SCO has growing influence as a platform, but its exact purpose and effectiveness are still unclear," said Manoj Kewalramani of the Takshashila Institution in Bengaluru. "It helps China push narratives, but its impact on real security issues remains limited."
Divisions also persist. India and Pakistan clashed in June when their defence ministers disagreed on a joint statement after India objected to the omission of an April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir. India also refused to join the SCO's criticism of Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year.
Despite this, analysts believe Modi will set aside disagreements to maintain momentum in improving ties with China, especially under U.S. trade pressure. Xi and Modi may announce small steps on troop withdrawals, easing trade barriers, climate cooperation, and broader exchanges.
No breakthroughs are expected, but experts say the symbolism will be powerful. Modi will leave after the summit, while Putin will remain in China to attend a World War II military parade in Beijing, one of his most extended trips abroad since the Ukraine conflict began.
