Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tianjin on Sunday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The high-level gathering brings together leaders from Russia, India, Turkey, Iran, and around 20 other Eurasian countries, highlighting China’s central role in shaping regional relations.
The SCO, which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and several Central Asian nations, has increasingly been viewed by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to Western alliances. This year’s summit is the largest since the organization’s founding in 2001 and comes amid heightened global tensions over Taiwan and Ukraine.
Putin is expected to hold bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, focusing on the Ukraine conflict and Tehran’s nuclear program. The event also provides Moscow with an opportunity to deepen ties with India, which has faced friction with the United States over trade and its energy imports from Russia.
Observers say the summit allows Russia to showcase its role on the world stage while strengthening its partnership with China, the world’s second-largest economy, at a time when both countries are under pressure from the U.S. and Europe.