World leaders are gathering in Tianjin for the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping. © Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcoming top leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit is set to open in Tianjin on Sunday. More than 20 heads of state and representatives from ten international organizations are attending.
The summit, which wraps up on September 1, unfolds against the backdrop of rising global tensions – from the Ukraine conflict and Israel’s war in Gaza to escalating trade disputes sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The summit will address regional security, economic cooperation, and cultural ties, along with transport, energy, digitalization, AI, and green development.
On September 2, Putin will travel to Beijing for talks with Xi focused on trade, security, the Ukraine conflict, and ties with the US. The next day, he will take part in events marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. He is also expected to hold around ten bilateral meetings with leaders including India’s Narendra Modi, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian.
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31 August 2025
07:00 GMT
China and Armenia have formally established a strategic partnership, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have announced. Xi added that Beijing supports Armenia in joining the SCO. Yerevan currently holds the status of dialogue partner.
- 06:45 GMT
China supports Azerbaijan in joining the SCO, Xi Jinping has said during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Tianjin.
Azerbaijan has been a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2016 and recently applied for observer status, a step seen as paving the way toward eventual full membership.READ MORE:
Three giants at one table: Can Russia, India, and China rewrite the global rules?The SCO currently has ten full members, including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, and several Central Asian countries.
- 06:28 GMT
During a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries should remain “friends and good neighbors.”
“The World is going towards transformation. China and India are two of the most civilizational countries. We are the world’s two most populous countries and part of the Global South,” Xi said. “It is vital… [for] the Dragon and the Elephant to come together.”
“We must also step up to our historic responsibilities to uphold multilateralism, a multipolar world, and more democracy in international institutions and work together for peace and prosperity in Asia and around the world,” he added.
- 06:06 GMT
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has arrived in Tianjin for the SCO summit. He was greeted with an official ceremony featuring soldiers, dancers in traditional attire, and a motorcade escort.
Similar welcomes were held for Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who all traveled to Tianjin over the weekend for the gathering.
- 05:57 GMT
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is becoming a global-level diplomatic actor, and has developed a unique model of regional security and development based on multilateral cooperation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has told China’s Xinhua news agency.
He added that he has known Xi Jinping for a long time, calling him a strategic leader. “Amid the current absolutely unpredictable situation, he valiantly assumes the leadership and offers a clear and well-defined path of development not only to China, but to the entire world,” Lukashenko said.
”In contrast to those who are trying to ‘bring democracy’ with bombs and sanctions, China shows that it is possible to develop peacefully and with respect for other countries,” he added.
- 05:48 GMT
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin. During the talks, Modi praised China’s SCO chairmanship, welcomed resumed direct flights between the two countries, as well as the restart of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra – a high-altitude Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage. He added that Beijing and New Delhi also reached an agreement regarding border management.
“The interests of 2.8 billion people of both countries are linked to our cooperation. This will also pave the way for the welfare of the entire humanity. We are committed to taking our relations forward on the basis of mutual trust, respect and sensitivity,” the Indian leader said.
- 05:40 GMT
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Tianjin, beginning a four-day visit to China. His Ilyushin Il-96 landed to a welcome from Chinese officials and Russian diplomats based in the country.
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