Under the chandeliers of the Great Hall in Tianjin, Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Monday with a sharp warning to the assembled leaders. He denounced what he called “bullying behavior” in global affairs and urged countries to resist a “Cold War mentality” that, he argued, is dragging the international system into fragmentation and confrontation.
“The present international situation is becoming chaotic and intertwined,” Xi told his counterparts. “The security and development tasks for the member states of the SCO have become even more challenging.”
The SCO, a Eurasian bloc founded in 2001 and dominated by China and Russia, has grown into the world’s largest regional grouping by population. Its ten full members — China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — collectively account for nearly half of humanity. Sixteen more nations participate as observers or dialogue partners.
Xi urged the body to “adhere to fairness and justice, oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behavior.” The comments, delivered against the backdrop of escalating US tariffs and global trade friction, were widely interpreted as a veiled rebuke of Washington.
For Beijing, the SCO summit is a chance to project an alternative to the US-led order. Chinese state media emphasized that this year’s gathering is the “largest-ever” in the organization’s history. Xi called on the group to shoulder “greater responsibilities for safeguarding regional peace and stability” and to serve as a platform for the Global South.
“The SCO is certain to play an even bigger role and achieve more progress,” he said at a banquet with fellow leaders. “It will contribute to boosting unity and cooperation among member states, pooling the strength of the Global South, and pushing for more progress of human civilization.”
China’s push to use the SCO as a vehicle for influence dovetails with Xi’s broader ambition to frame Beijing as the leader of a non-Western coalition, particularly as trade tensions with Washington deepen. US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Chinese, Indian, and Russian exports have rattled supply chains and forced many developing economies to search for new trade alignments.
Putin’s Defense of Ukraine War
If Xi sought to cast the SCO as a forum for unity, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin used it as a pulpit to defend his war in Ukraine.
In his remarks, Putin repeated his long-standing — and widely discredited — assertion that the conflict began with a “coup d’état” in Kyiv provoked by the West. He accused NATO of attempting to “drag Ukraine into its orbit” and insisted that Russia was defending its own security.
“The crisis is the result of Western provocation,” Putin said, arguing that Moscow was left with “no choice but to act.”
The Russian leader also pointed to his August meeting with Trump in Alaska, claiming that “understandings” were reached that could pave the way toward peace, though little evidence of such progress has surfaced.
The juxtaposition was striking: while Xi emphasized “cooperation” and “development,” Putin sharpened his justifications for war, underscoring the SCO’s uneasy balance between global economic aspirations and hard security grievances.
India
Amid the summit’s speeches, much attention fell on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi is walking a tightrope between its decades-old ties with Moscow and mounting pressure from Washington.
India has dramatically increased purchases of discounted Russian crude oil since the invasion of Ukraine, a move the Trump administration says undermines efforts to isolate Moscow. In response, Washington has slapped 50% tariffs on Indian goods, further straining ties.
But Modi showed no sign of backing down. After bilateral talks with Putin on the sidelines, he declared the two leaders had an “excellent meeting” to expand cooperation “in all sectors, including trade, fertilizers, space, security, and culture.”
“Our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership remains a vital pillar of regional and global stability,” Modi posted on Facebook.
Putin reciprocated warmly, calling Modi a “dear friend” and stressing that Russia and India had enjoyed “special relations for decades” built on “friendship and trust.” He even gave the Indian leader a ride in his armored Aurus limousine, an image Modi promptly shared on social media.
For New Delhi, the SCO summit was also a chance to cautiously reset ties with Beijing. Relations between China and India plummeted after a deadly border clash in 2020. Meeting Xi face-to-face in Tianjin, Modi said ties were “moving in a meaningful direction” and that the border was experiencing a “peaceful environment.”
Xi responded that the two countries should “not let the border issue define the overall relationship,” urging instead to focus on economic development.
Erdogan as Bridge-Builder
Beyond China, Russia, and India, another leader sought the spotlight: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Though Turkey is not a full member of the SCO, Erdogan has been a frequent guest, and this year he was courted as both an energy partner and a mediator in Ukraine.
Putin hailed Turkey as a “strategic partner” and praised Erdogan’s role in brokering grain exports across the Black Sea. “Russian-Turkish cooperation in all areas is well-established, concrete, useful, and trusting,” Putin said.
Erdogan, in turn, stressed his desire for a “fair and lasting peace” in Ukraine. He renewed his invitation for Putin to visit Ankara, emphasizing that their “sincere relations” were “developing without being affected by current circumstances.”
Turkey’s balancing act — a NATO member that maintains deep trade and energy ties with Russia — embodies the geopolitical ambiguity of the SCO’s orbit.
Azerbaijan and Armenia
The summit also spotlighted China’s outreach to the South Caucasus. Xi Jinping met leaders from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, two countries with a history of bitter conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Xi lauded 30 years of cooperation with Baku, particularly on energy and transport links through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Azerbaijan, he said, was a “good friend and good partner” of China.
Beijing also voiced support for Azerbaijan’s potential SCO membership. In return, Baku reaffirmed its adherence to the “One China principle,” rejecting Taiwan’s claims to independence.
Similarly, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan left Tianjin with a pledge to deepen Belt and Road cooperation. Xi emphasized collaboration in education, science, tourism, and connectivity. Armenia, too, reaffirmed its stance on Taiwan.
By courting both Yerevan and Baku, China positioned itself as a partner to both sides of a fraught regional rivalry — though how much influence it can wield in practice remains uncertain.
The SCO’s appeal lies partly in numbers. Its member states stretch from Eastern Europe to South Asia, encompassing nuclear powers, energy giants, and fast-growing economies. Collectively, they present themselves as the backbone of a “multipolar world.”
For Xi, the concept of multipolarity is an antidote to what he sees as US “hegemony.” The summit’s rhetoric reinforced that message: no single country should dictate rules, and cooperation among developing powers is the future.
But the bloc’s internal divisions are real. India and China remain wary rivals. Pakistan and India clash regularly over Kashmir. Russia and China may be aligned for now, but Moscow remains suspicious of Beijing’s long-term ambitions in Central Asia.
The SCO is thus less a tight alliance than a loose platform where authoritarian and semi-democratic governments can signal solidarity against Western pressure while carefully guarding their own interests.
The timing of this year’s summit is crucial. Trump’s trade war has destabilized global markets, and his latest tariffs have hit SCO members directly. India faces penalties for oil imports. China is locked in an escalating tariff spiral with Washington. Russia is already under Western sanctions for its war in Ukraine.
Against that backdrop, SCO leaders sought to highlight intra-bloc trade. Putin stressed Russia’s growing exports of energy to both China and India. Xi emphasized connectivity through Belt and Road corridors. Modi spoke of fertilizers and space cooperation. Erdogan underscored energy pipelines.
Yet, beneath the public optimism, the challenges are stark. Many SCO economies remain heavily reliant on trade with Western markets. The question is whether they can create enough alternative flows to offset pressure from Washington and Brussels.
Xi’s Vision
Xi’s call to reject “bullying behavior” may resonate with countries that feel constrained by US dominance. But the SCO’s track record in translating lofty rhetoric into concrete policies is mixed.
Security cooperation has been limited, often confined to joint military drills. Economic coordination remains patchy, hampered by conflicting national interests. Even the Belt and Road Initiative, once a unifying banner, has slowed amid debt concerns in recipient countries.
Still, the symbolism matters. As Trump doubles down on tariffs and Europe remains divided on how to handle China and Russia, the SCO provides an alternative stage where non-Western leaders can articulate a different vision of global order — one where sovereignty trumps liberal norms, and multipolarity trumps unipolar dominance.
The Tianjin summit ended with declarations of unity, but also with lingering uncertainties. Will India continue to resist US pressure on Russian oil? Can China and India sustain their tentative thaw? Will Turkey pivot closer to the SCO orbit? And can Russia secure enough non-Western support to weather sanctions while waging a costly war?
For Xi, the answer lies in doubling down on the “Shanghai Spirit,” a phrase evoked repeatedly throughout the summit. He framed it as a commitment to “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity, and pursuit of common development.”
“Looking to the future,” Xi said, “with the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit, keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better perform the functions of the organization.”
The SCO summit in Tianjin was, at once, a show of strength and a reminder of fragility. Xi Jinping projected confidence in an emerging non-Western order, Vladimir Putin doubled down on his war narrative, Narendra Modi balanced old friendships with new pressures, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan played mediator-in-chief.
But beneath the smiles and handshakes, the bloc remains more a coalition of convenience than a unified alliance. What unites its members is not a shared ideology but a shared resistance to Western dominance.
