Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday launched a high-level summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), bringing together more than 20 world leaders, including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two-day meeting, taking place in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, saw leaders from the ten-member bloc pose for a formal group photograph before discussions began.
Xi, Putin, and Modi were observed in conversation during the opening session, which was broadcast live.
In his keynote address, Xi urged member states to resist what he described as unfair practices in global politics. “We must adhere to fairness and justice, oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behaviour,” he told delegates.
The SCO, founded in 2001, includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. Another 16 nations participate as observers or dialogue partners.
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The organisation has increasingly been viewed by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to Western alliances such as NATO.
“The current international situation is becoming chaotic and intertwined,” Xi said, warning that member states face “increasingly complex” security and development challenges.
He added that the bloc should continue to uphold what he called the “Shanghai spirit” of cooperation and mutual benefit.
The summit is expected to focus on regional stability, economic integration, and collective responses to geopolitical pressures.