SCO summit in China to host Modi, Putin to showcase Xi’s 'Global South' vision

The upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin will mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in over seven years. It is a significant development as the two neighbours continue efforts to ease tensions following the deadly border clashes at Galwan Valley in 2020.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host more than 20 world leaders at the regional security forum from August 31 to September 1, in what is being seen as a major display of Global South solidarity during Donald Trump’s second US presidency, while also giving sanctions-hit Russia another chance at diplomatic outreach.

Apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders from Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia will also join the summit in China's northern port city.

Also Read: PM Modi to attend SCO’s biggest-ever summit in China's Tianjin

Xi’s post-American vision

Modi last shared a stage with Xi and Putin at last year's BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, even as Western leaders had largely shunned Putin over the war in Ukraine.

Russian embassy officials in New Delhi have since indicated that Moscow hopes for trilateral talks between Russia, India, and China soon, Reuters reported.

Analysts believe Xi will use the summit to project what a post-American-led international order could look like.

“Xi will want to use the summit as an opportunity to showcase what a post-American-led international order begins to look like and that all White House efforts since January to counter China, Iran, Russia, and now India have not had the intended effect,” said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of The China-Global South Project, as quoted by Reuters.

"Just look at how much BRICS has rattled (US President) Donald Trump, which is precisely what these groups are designed to do," he added.

Closer Russia-China ties

Xi has also emphasised closer China-Russia ties, telling visiting Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Tuesday (August 26) that both countries should build a more "equitable" international order and safeguard their common security and development interests while strengthening mutual trust.

The two sides should continue their traditional friendship and deepen strategic mutual trust, Reuters reported, citing Chinese news agency Xinhua, which quoted Xi as saying.

Putin will also be the principal foreign guest of honour at a military parade in Beijing next week, marking the formal surrender of Japan and the end of World War Two.

Ahead of what is set to be a massive public showcase of China’s bid to modernise its armed forces, Beijing has launched a campaign emphasising that China and the former Soviet Union played pivotal roles in both the Asian and European theatres during the war.

“China-Russia relations serve as a source of stability for world peace,” Xi said.

Also Read: EAM Jaishankar meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing

India-Pakistan tensions linger

Despite the show of unity, tensions between core members India and Pakistan remain unresolved.

The June SCO defence ministers’ meeting failed to adopt a joint statement after India objected to the omission of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which had triggered the worst violence between India and Pakistan in decades.

India also declined to endorse the SCO’s condemnation of Israeli strikes on Iran earlier in June.

But the recent detente between India and China after five years of heightened border frictions, combined with tariff pressures from the Trump administration, has raised expectations of a positive Modi–Xi meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Analysts expect both sides to announce further incremental border measures, including limited troop withdrawals, easing of trade and visa restrictions, cooperation in climate initiatives, and expanded government and cultural exchanges.

Also Read: Contribute to stable borders: Xi to residents of Tibetan village next to Arunachal

Optics over outcomes

This year’s meeting will be the largest since the SCO was founded in 2001, a Chinese foreign ministry official said last week, describing the bloc as “an important force in building a new type of international relations.”

The security-focused bloc, which began as a group of six Eurasian nations, has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries in recent years.

Its remit has also enlarged from security and counter-terrorism to economic and military cooperation.

While expansion is expected to be on the summit’s agenda, analysts caution that the SCO has historically delivered few tangible outcomes. Nonetheless, China is seen as valuing the optics of Global South solidarity against the US at a time of global uncertainty.

Despite the lack of substantive policy announcements expected at the summit, experts warn that the bloc's appeal to Global South countries should not be underestimated. “This summit is about optics, really powerful optics,” Olander observed.