Putin, Xi, and Modi Embrace Each Other at SCO Summit in China

Over 20 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gathered at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) yearly summit in China on Monday.

China: Xi urged members to leverage their “mega-scale market” and boost cooperation in areas like energy, infrastructure, and technology. He announced that China would provide 2 billion yuan (~280 million USD) in free aid and 10 billion yuan (~1.4 billion USD) in loans to SCO member states.

Russia: Putin voiced support for Xi's vision, saying the bloc has revived “genuine multilateralism” and that using national currencies in mutual settlements provides a foundation for a new system of stability in Eurasia. He also said the “root causes” of the conflict in Ukraine must be “eliminated” for a settlement to be reached, ostensibly referring to NATO enlargement.

India: Modi touted the Russian-Indian relationship at a bilateral meeting, and said, “close cooperation is important not only for the people of both countries but also for global peace, stability, and prosperity.” He also posted several pictures on his X account of embraces with other leaders, from Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The visit was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years.

For Context: The SCO was established in 2001 and, after adding Iran and Belarus in 2023 and 2024, has 10 permanent members. At Monday’s summit, heads of state from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Pakistan, and others, including non-permanent members, were present. Last week, President Trump doubled India’s tariff to 50% for its continued purchasing of Russian oil. On Monday, during the summit, Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) reported a quote from India’s Oil Minister who said, “there is no substitute” for Russian oil.

How The Media Covered It: The story was mostly covered by outlets from the left and center, which framed the meeting as happening amid geopolitical disruption caused by the Trump administration. The New York Times (Lean Left) said the disruption “has given China and Russia a platform to rally partners such as Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Pakistan.” The Washington Post (Lean Left) wrote in its headline that China was leveraging “turmoil” created by Trump. Outlets across the spectrum did not note that the SCO has met annually since its formation.

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