File photo China’s President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
It is important to have regional solidarity amid turbulence in international landscape, China said on Friday (August 22, 2025) as it prepared to host heads of states and international organisations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the summit, which is expected to be attended by a host of world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Briefing reporters about the summit, China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin said it will follow new visions to overcome “cultural wars and cold war mentality”, while looking into new measures to advance development, maintain security, and promote prosperity.
The meeting, hosting more than 20 world leaders from countries including Belarus, Armenia, Malaysia, Nepal, Türkiye, and Egypt, comes against the backdrop of uncertainties in global trade, triggered by the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“In today’s world, outdated mindsets of hegemonism and power politics still have influence, with certain countries attempting to prioritise their own interests above others, seriously threatening world peace and stability,” Mr. Liu said without naming any specific country while emphasising on the need to strengthen regional cooperation.
The SCO aims at stability to foster lasting peace, harmony, and friendship while addressing uncertainties in international environment, Mr. Liu said, adding that the summit will focus on practising multilateralism and safeguarding regional stability.
(The writer is in Beijing at an invitation from the China Public Diplomacy Association)
Published – August 22, 2025 05:43 pm IST
