Xi to Host Over 20 World Leaders at SCO Summit in China Amid Rising Global South Solidarity
Putin to Attend as Beijing Bolsters Ties with Sanctions Hit Russia Ahead of U.S. Elections
Beijing, August 26, 2025 — Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host more than 20 world leaders next week at a high-stakes regional security forum, marking a significant display of Global South solidarity and a renewed diplomatic push in favor of multipolar global governance just months before the U.S. presidential election that may return Donald Trump to the White House.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held from August 31 to September 1 in the northern port city of Tianjin. Alongside President Xi, the event will be headlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose attendance underscores the deepening strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow amid intensifying Western isolation and sanctions against Russia.
The guest list includes leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, many of whom represent emerging economies increasingly skeptical of U.S. led global institutions and sanctions regimes.
“This summit is China’s moment to solidify its role as the anchor of the Global South,” said one senior diplomat from the region. “It’s also a platform for Russia to show it’s far from diplomatically isolated.”
SCO: From Regional Bloc to Global Platform
Founded in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation initially focused on regional counterterrorism and economic cooperation among China, Russia, and Central Asian states. But in recent years, it has expanded its scope and its membership to include India, Pakistan, and Iran, with dozens of observer and dialogue partner states.
The 2025 summit in Tianjin marks a shift in tone and ambition, with China aiming to elevate the SCO as an alternative platform to Western led alliances like NATO and G7.
Topics on the summit agenda reportedly include:
Regional security cooperation
Trade and infrastructure initiatives tied to China’s Belt and Road
Strategies to bypass Western sanctions and develop parallel financial systems
Humanitarian cooperation and food and energy security
Russia’s Diplomatic Lifeline
For Russia, the summit provides a critical opportunity to demonstrate that it retains high level diplomatic partners, even as its war in Ukraine and associated Western sanctions have constrained its economy and isolated it from major Western powers.
Putin’s confirmed participation marks one of his most prominent multilateral appearances this year, amid a flurry of recent engagements with non Western allies like North Korea, Iran, and BRICS partners.
“China is throwing Russia a diplomatic lifeline,” said a Eurasia analyst. “It’s a clear signal that alternative poles of power are being formed.”
Trump Factor and the U.S. Shadow
The summit also comes against the backdrop of a fast approaching U.S. presidential election, with Donald Trump a vocal critic of multilateralism and NATO leading in several battleground state polls. Many SCO member states see the U.S. as distracted and divided, giving Beijing a unique opening to reshape the global narrative.
Observers suggest the Tianjin summit could also preemptively counter a second Trump administration, especially if it adopts a transactional approach to alliances and accelerates U.S. disengagement from global leadership.
What to Watch
The SCO summit is expected to conclude with a joint declaration reinforcing calls for:
Non-interference in domestic affairs
Reform of global governance institutions
Respect for “multipolarity” in international relations
Expanded South-South cooperation
China may also announce new investment funds or digital infrastructure agreements with member states, further anchoring its economic influence across Eurasia and the Global South.
As the geopolitical center of gravity shifts, the 2025 Tianjin SCO Summit could be a milestone in the post Western world order that leaders like Xi and Putin have long envisioned.
