Xi, Putin share vision for new global order at SCO summit

Beijing will provide $280 million of free aid to member states this year and a further $1.4 billion of loans to an SCO banking consortium

- Agencies

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed their vision at a regional summit on Monday for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the “Global South”, in a direct challenge to the United States.

Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries at a two-day summit in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Those attending the summit include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The security forum was originally seen as a foil to US influence in Central Asia and has grown in size and influence over the years.

The SCO must “promote the democratisation of international relations and enhance representation of developing countries”, Xi said in a speech, adding that at a time of turbulence “global governance has reached a new crossroads”.

Veiled attack on the US-dominated order