Western Concerns over Russia-China-Iran Triangle at Shanghai Meeting; Trump Alarmed by Members’ Economic and Political Influence; Putin and Pezeshkian Headline SCO News

According to Rokna, Beijing, August 28 (Xinhua) – Fan Xianrong, China’s ambassador responsible for national coordination for the SCO, told Xinhua that the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin is intended to build consensus, inject fresh momentum into cooperation, and chart a roadmap for future development.

The summit, scheduled for August 31 and September 1, 2025, in the northern port city of Tianjin, is, according to Fan, the largest gathering in the history of the SCO.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the 25th Council of Heads of State meeting and the “SCO Plus” session, delivering keynote speeches, while over 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations will participate.

Fan added that Xi Jinping will sign and issue a joint declaration with other SCO leaders, approve a 10-year development strategy for the organization, issue statements marking the 80th anniversaries of victory in World War II and the founding of the United Nations, and ratify a series of final documents to strengthen security, economic, people-to-people, and cultural cooperation.

The SCO was established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, China, as the first regional international organization founded in cooperation with China, taking its name from a Chinese city.

Fan noted that over the past 24 years, the SCO has implemented the “Shanghai Spirit,” emphasizing mutual trust, shared interests, equality, consultation, respect for civilizational diversity, and pursuit of common development.

He said that under these principles, the SCO has expanded political, security, economic, and cultural cooperation, strengthened regional stability and development, and provided a model for a new type of international relations.

Fan emphasized that the Shanghai Spirit aligns with the UN Charter and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, transcending old notions such as civilizational clashes, Cold War mentality, and zero-sum perspectives, and has gained increasing recognition from the international community.

He stated that the SCO has expanded from six founding members to a family of 26 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa, making it the largest regional international organization in terms of geographic area and population.

Fan added that the organization will remain open to additional countries that embrace the Shanghai Spirit.

China assumed the 2024–2025 SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit in Kazakhstan and has since organized over 100 events under the theme “Year of SCO Sustainable Development.”

Fan expressed hope that China would take more practical and proactive measures to deliver greater benefits to the peoples of member states and build a closer SCO community with a shared future.

He stressed that the SCO is now at a sensitive stage of development, facing both opportunities and challenges.

Fan stated that China will closely cooperate with all parties to promote high-quality growth of the SCO and focus on five key priorities: strengthening security mechanisms, creating and sharing development opportunities, consolidating good-neighborly relations, upholding international justice and fairness, and maintaining the organization’s openness and inclusiveness.

He added that through the “SCO Plus” model, China aims to attract broader participation in various areas of SCO cooperation and accelerate confidence in sustainable peace and shared global prosperity.

Global Leaders Gather in China to Showcase Beijing’s Global Role

Leaders and delegations from Asian and Middle Eastern countries began gathering in Tianjin on Sunday to participate in the two-day SCO summit, a regional group that has become central to Xi Jinping’s and Vladimir Putin’s efforts to rebalance global power in their favor.

China has described this summit as the largest in SCO history, with its elaborate ceremonies and diplomacy providing a platform to showcase China’s power and stability, while the United States under Donald Trump recalibrates its alliances and advances a global trade war.

The summit is held just days before a major military parade in Beijing, demonstrating China’s rapidly growing military strength, attracting leaders including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, Vladimir Putin, and pro-Russia European leaders such as Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.

The summit also provides a prominent opportunity for Putin, only two weeks after his meeting with Trump in Alaska, as he continues to ignore international pressure to end his attack on Ukraine.

Before traveling, Putin described China-Russia cooperation as a “sustainable force” for the world and told China’s state news agency: “We are united in the vision of building a just, multipolar world order.” His remarks point to the two countries’ efforts to reshape the world order as a system dominated by the United States.

SCO members include China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, representing roughly 40% of the world’s population and controlling significant global energy resources.

Hosts and Architecture of the Summit

The summit’s guests have diverse national backgrounds and political systems. While this has drawn criticism regarding the organization’s effectiveness, it reinforces Xi Jinping’s message.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence adds weight to the guest list, having been absent from last year’s Kazakhstan summit. Modi attends as India-U.S. relations have cooled, while China and New Delhi seek to ease tensions.

Delegations from 16 SCO partner and observer countries will also participate, including Cambodia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and NATO member Turkey. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will also attend.

In Tianjin, banners in English, Russian, and Chinese welcome the guests, and authorities have restricted the city center to prepare for official and diplomatic ceremonies.

Tianjin is a symbolic city; a port opened by colonial powers in the 19th century and occupied by Japan during World War II.

Some guests, including Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will attend Beijing’s military parade, highlighting the Communist Party’s role in the war against Japan and the end of World War II.

Since its establishment in 2001, the SCO has expanded activities to include counterterrorism exercises, intelligence sharing, and coordination in training, trade, and energy. Members also advocate for a “just” international order free from the dominance of a single superpower.

Iran’s 2023 membership and Belarus’s 2024 inclusion are seen as efforts by China and Russia to highlight the organization’s anti-Western stance, strengthening closer ties between Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran, raising concerns in Washington.

Experts await to see whether this summit can foster greater economic convergence among members, particularly in regional trade and development financing, although expectations for practical progress remain low.

Even though the SCO repeatedly calls for “avoiding bloc, ideological, or confrontational approaches,” its sessions have yet to issue a joint statement on the Ukraine war.

Nevertheless, the SCO and its main members, China and Russia, have “strongly condemned” the recent U.S. and Israeli military attacks on Iran in June.