State leaders, alongside top officials of international organisations gather in northern Tianjin City, China on August 31 for the 25th Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) Summit, against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical conflicts and turbulent economic landscape.
Running until September 1, the 25th SCO Summit is hailed as the “largest-ever,” since its foundation in 2001.
This is the fifth time that the annual conference is held in China, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the power-house organisation.
In a statement carried by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Assistant Foreign MInister Liu Bin said this year’s edition of the summit is a testament to SCO’s international influence and appeal – bound by “stronger solidarity, co-ordination, dynamism and productivity.”
Who is attending?
Joining Chinese President Xi Jin Ping at the two-day event are leaders of the nine other founding members of the SCO, namely Russia, India, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi top the list of dignitaries attending the summit – in view of the persisting war in Ukraine, armed conflict in the Middle East and trade frictions with the United States.
Leaders of 16 more countries affiliated as “dialogue partners” of SCO are also attending the high-level conference, such as Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, together with their counterparts from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Non-SCO nations, mostly from Southeast Asia, are also represented. These include Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, with Indonesia recently cancelling President Prabowo Subianto’s attendance to the event, amid widespread anti-corruption demonstrations in the country.
The invitation underscores China’s bid to shore up trading and economic ties with the region, in the face of US tariffs.
The Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Kao Kim Hourn, is also attending the summit, alongside United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and representatives of several other international organisations.
READ MORE: Filipino netizens slam contractors’ ‘nepo babies’ amid flood control project anomalies
What to expect
According to Liu Bin, the summit is expected to produce a “10-year development strategy for the SCO,” as well as “documents on strengthening co-operation in the fields of security, economy, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” Xinhua reported.
In addition, President Xi Jin Ping is “expected to unveil China’s new measures and actions to support the SCO’s high-quality development and all-round co-operation, while outlining pathways for the organisation to contribute constructively to safeguarding… international order and enhancing the global governance system,” the state newspaper noted.
Asked by Xinhua on the summit’s objective, Putin said it will “strengthen the SCO’s capacity to respond to contemporary challenges and threats, and consolidate solidarity across the shared Eurasian space.”
“All this will help shape a fairer multipolar world order,” said the Russian head of state, who reportedly touched down in Tianjin early Sunday.
Bilateral meetings will also be organised on the sideline of the summit.
On September 1, Putin is expected to hold talks with Turkey’s Erdogan and Iran’s Pezeshkian about the Ukraine conflict and Tehran’s nuclear programme respectively, according to a report by Agence-France-Presse.
Massive military parade
The two-day summit comes days before a massive military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, where China emerged victorious over its neighbour Japan.
The guest lists for the SCO Summit in Tianjin and the military parade in Beijing on September 3 will partially overlap, with notable departures and additions.
As the leaders of India, Turkey and Egypt leave before the commemorative event, North Korean leader Kim Jung Un will be joining Xi and Putin at the front row of Tiananmen Square, ABC news has learned.
It will be Kim’s first meeting with Xi in more than six years, according to the cited source.
It is reported that Wednesday’s parade will feature China’s new-type combat capabilities, including hypersonic weapons and a range of electronic gear.
READ NEXT: Thailand bats for IMO Council membership for 2026-27 term
Hazel Camba 
Shameeka Voyiya 
Newsjustnews writers