Summit in Tianjin: China calls for unity against “power policy” from partners

China calls for more cohesion from the members of the Shanghaier Organization for Cooperation because of the persistent conflicts and trade disputes worldwide. “We should look for similarities and put it aside,” said China’s state and party leader Xi Jinping at the meeting of the heads of state and government of the Shanghaier Organization for Cooperation (SoZ) in Tianjin. He also called for a mentality of the Cold War to reject block confrontations and harassment.

The organization should meet the responsibility of peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region, explained XI. He emphasized the successes of the SOZ, including cooperation against terrorism and investments in industry. According to him, the members of the organization together reach an annual economic output of almost $ 30 trillion (25.6 trillion euros). XI also announced 2 billion yuan (almost 239.5 million euros) in help for SOZ members.

Modi and Putin hold hands

According to XI’s opening speech, other heads of state and government spoke, including Iran’s President Massud Peseschkian and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The SOZ members also wanted to sign a joint explanation. According to Kremlin, the program of Russian President Vladimir Putin was still bilateral this Monday, including Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Videos showed Putin and modes hand in hand through the conference hall in front of the ceremony.

The SOZ was founded 24 years ago as an organization for the fight against terrorism and for economic cooperation. In the meantime, her ten states are part of her, including founding countries such as Russia, China and Kazakhstan also India, Pakistan and Iran since 2023 and Belarus since 2024.

The organization is therefore a kind of counterweight to western alliances. The summit in Tianjin is intended to demonstrate strength and unity. The SOZ is largely dominated by leaders of authoritarian systems, which are also criticized internationally for human rights violations.

Between dispute and cooperation

The day before and a day before the start of the summit, XI led with the first head of state and government of the more than 20 announced summit participants states as well as organizational confidence such as UN Secretary-General António Guterres. From this, the Chinese side mostly published demands for more cooperation between the states. In conversation with Modi, however, it was also about a smoldering border conflict for decades, which had severely affected the relationships between the two most populous countries in the world in recent years.

In a banquet for state guests on Sunday evening (local time), XI said that the world experiences changes as it has not been in a century, with significant instability and uncertainty. The SOZ is even greater responsibility for the maintenance of peace and stability in the region, he emphasized.

Demand for new world order

XI and Putin have long been calling for a “multipolar world order”. Above all, they mean a world order away from a guided tour of the United States. China has long been booting for more influence in the global south and presents itself with investment initiatives, such as the “new Seidenstrasse”, as alternatives to western partners such as the USA or the European Union.

Last but not least, the SOZ plays the battered relationship of many countries with the USA in the dispute over tariffs. US President Donald Trump had recently doubled the surcharges for imports from India to 50 percent. Washington justified this with India’s oil transactions with Russia, which rinses money in Moscow’s cash register for the war of aggression in Ukraine. The visit Modis in China – the first in seven years – was therefore also seen as an approach to Beijing.

While Modi is leaving this Monday, Putin stays in China for several days to attend on Wednesday in the nearby Chinese capital Beijing with North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong and a military parade for the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II. Bilateral Russian-Chinese negotiations are also planned on Tuesday.