Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin took turns on Monday to slide to the west during a rally of Eurasian leaders aimed at putting the center of regional relations in Beijing.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) presents itself as a style of non -Western collaboration between 10 countries in the region and seeks to be an alternative to traditional alliances.
XI told leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that the world situation became more “chaotic and intertwined”.
The Chinese chief also criticized the “intimidation behavior” of certain countries – a veiled reference in the United States.
“The security and development tasks faced by the Member States have become even more difficult,” he said in his address in the northern port city of Tianjin.
“With the world undergoing turbulence and a transformation, we must continue to follow the spirit of Shanghai … and better perform the functions of the organization.”
Putin used her speech to defend Ukraine’s offensive in Russia, blaming the West for having triggered the three and a half year conflict that killed tens of thousands and devastated a large part of eastern Ukraine.
“This crisis was not triggered by the attack on Russia against Ukraine, but was the result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and caused by the West,” said Putin.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine urged China to work towards peace during the visit of Putin, saying that in a press release from kyiv, they “would welcome a more active role” for Beijing to help find peace “based on respect for the Charter of the United Nations”.
Putin, meanwhile, praised Turkey’s mediation efforts in the conflict when he met Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
And Putin then met her Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, said the Kremlin, the couple should discuss the Iranian nuclear program.
‘Always insightful’
Earlier, leaders of the 10 countries – China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Ouzbekistan and Bélarus – posed for a group photo on a red carpet.
XI, Putin and Modi were seen chatting, flanked by their translators. Modi and Putin were photographed by holding hands and held talks in the afternoon.
The Russian state media reported that the pair had spent almost an hour speaking “face to face” in the armored presidential car in Putin before an official meeting.
“Conversations with him are always insightful,” published Modi on X alongside a photograph of them traveling in the car.
Before their meeting, Modi praised the “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Moscow and added that India wanted the two parties in the Ukrainian conflict “to find a stable peace”.
‘Trust mutual’
The SCO summit started on Sunday, a few days before a huge military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Member States signed a declaration on Monday to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as security and the economy, the Xinhua news agency in China said.
Xinhua added that leaders also admitted Laos as a country of observer, or “dialogue partner” – the summit already has 16 observers.
XI has held a burst of consecutive meetings with leaders, including Lukashenko – one of Putin’s most rigid allies – and Modi, who has been during his first visit to China since 2018.
Modi told Xi that India was determined to advance “our links according to mutual trust, dignity and sensitivity”.
The two most populous nations in the world are intense rivals, competition for influence through South Asia, and they fought a fatal border confrontation in 2020.
A thaw started last October, when Modi met XI for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Their rapprochement has deepened as US President Donald Trump put pressure on the two Asian economic giants with commercial prices.
More than 20 leaders have attended the largest block meeting since its creation in 2001.
Many dignitaries gathered will be in Beijing on Wednesday to watch the military parade, which will also be assisted by the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A train carrying Kim died in China early on Tuesday, reported the Yonhap news agency in South Korea, citing the radio service managed by the state of the North.
