SUMMIT OF OPPORTUNITIES

For a majority of the SCO summit participants, Tianjin signals their solidarity and re-adjustments in what is especially now a constantly changing state of global and regional orders

- Srikanth Kondapalli

China pulled off a spectacular show last week at the port city of Tianjin by inviting more than 20 world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to the 25th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Itis significant for the “united front” tactics of China in its quest to create a secure enclave and a bulwark against the US, consolidate its position in Asia and beyond, promote a multipolar world order and is in line with President Xi Jinping’s iconoclastic “fenfayouwei” (accomplish something). For the participants as well, there are major takeaways from Tianjin. For Putin, seized with the Ukrainian conflict and extreme pressure from the US and Europe, including debilitating sanctions against Russia, the SCO gathering offers ways to overcome global isolation on his terms.

For India, the Modi-Putin-Xi photo optics at the summit in Tianjin, offers a stiff counter to the ever-increasing insults and tariffs of the US. Besides, Modi was not just able to send signals of strategic autonomy to the West, but also to usher in stability in India’s relations with China which have been uncomfortable after the bloody clash at Galwan in June 2020.

India became an observer in 2005, applied for full membership in 2014 and finally after signing 37 obligations, became a full member in 2017. India also became the chair of the SCO summit in 2023 when it conducted a virtual meeting of the heads of the states of the SCO.