Chinese President Xi Jinping will host over 20 world leaders next week in Tianjin. According to reports, the northern port city will hold the regional security summit from August 31 to September 1.
Given that the geopolitical landscape is shifting, partly because of Donald Trump’s influence, the timing of this meet is crucial.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China is the focus of the summit. As reported earlier, it will be his first trip there in more than seven years.
India-China relations have been strained since the deadly border clashes in 2020. The summit offers a chance at the India-China relationship improving from here one.
PM Modi last shared a platform with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. That meeting took place even as western countries continued to isolate Putin over the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, New Delhi is facing fresh tariff pressure from the Trump administration.
These factors are raising hopes for a positive meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the summit.
Analysts averred that India will likely move past its recent frustrations with the SCO. He said maintaining the thaw with China is now a key priority for PM Modi.
After the summit, some important border-related steps may follow. These could include phased troop withdrawals and easing trade and visa restrictions.
According to a Chinese foreign ministry official, this SCO summit will be the biggest since the group was founded in 2001. The official called the organisation an “important force in building a new type of international relations.”
The SCO started as a six-nation Eurasian security group. Over time, it has grown to include 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer states.
Its focus has also widened. The SCO now covers not just security and counter-terrorism, but also economic and military cooperation.
Officials from the Russian embassy in New Delhi recently said they hope for trilateral talks between India, China, and Russia soon.
Xi is expected to use the summit to project a vision of a new international order not dominated by the United States. Experts have remarked that Xi intends to demonstrate that White House efforts since January to counter China, Iran, Russia, and now India have failed to yield the desired results. He pointed out that the very existence of blocs like BRICS has visibly unsettled Donald Trump, which, he said, is exactly what such alliances aim to achieve.
While the summit will be rich in symbolism, experts warn that the SCO’s actual policy achievements remain modest.
Analysts have pointed out that many attending countries are pushing for expansion. The bloc however has struggled to deliver significant cooperation outcomes.
Manoj Kewalramani, chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Research Programme at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, told media outlets that even though the SCO’s vision and practical implementation is not yet clear, its increasing convening power plays a crucial role in narrative projection.
According to a report, he has also mentioned that the organisation has shown limited effectiveness in dealing with major security challenges.
Persistent tensions between core members India and Pakistan were evident earlier this year. At the June SCO defence ministers’ meeting, no joint statement could be adopted after India objected to the exclusion of a reference to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which led to the worst India-Pakistan fighting in decades. New Delhi also refused to join the SCO in condemning Israeli airstrikes on Iran, a member state, earlier in June.
There might also be increased cooperation on climate issues. In addition, wider government and people-to-people exchanges are expected.
Following the summit, PM Modi is expected to depart from China. Putin, however, will remain in the country to attend a World War II military parade in Beijing later in the week, marking an unusually extended stay abroad for the Russian leader.
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