Chinese President Xi Jinping has hosted bilateral meetings with Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. The summit, attended by leaders from more than two dozen nations, is seen as a challenge to US-led Western blocs such as Nato.
Xi and Putin, who have described their partnership as “limitless”, discussed Putin’s recent meeting with Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin official who gave no further details. The meeting comes as both leaders face isolation from Western democracies over conflicts in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Xi for the first time in seven years, amid efforts to rebuild trade ties and resolve border disputes. Modi stated they are committed to progressing relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities. Xi said ties could be stable if both sides view each other as partners rather than rivals.
Turkish President Erdoğan also held talks with Xi, who called for stronger cooperation on counter-terrorism. Other leaders attending included the presidents of the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. The SCO, a 10-member bloc founded in 2001, aims to strengthen multilateral alternatives to Western alliances.
Putin told Chinese state media the summit would consolidate solidarity among Eurasian nations and help shape a fairer multipolar world order. The upheaval caused by US tariff policies, including 50% tariffs on Indian goods, has bolstered the bloc’s appeal. The summit is the largest since the SCO’s formation.
