‘Powerful Optics’: XI Jinping will receive Putin and Modi in a great demonstration of solidarity

China will try to demonstrate the solidarity of the Global South in OCS

President XI Jinping will bring together more than 20 world leaders at a China Regional Security Forum next week at a powerful demonstration of solidarity from the Global South Donald Trump era while helping Russia, hit by sanctions, to make another diplomatic scam.

In addition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders of Central Asia, Middle East, Southern Asia and Southeast Asia were invited to the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (OCX), which will be held in the Tianjin Port City, from the north of the country, from 31 August to September 1st.

The summit will mark the first visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China in more than seven years, while the two neighbors work to further relieve tensions caused by deadly confrontations on the border in 2020.

Modi divided the same stage with Xi and Putin for the last time at last year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, even with Western leaders, turning his back to the Russian leader in the midst of the war in Ukraine. Russian embassy employees in New Delhi said last week that Moscow expects trilateral negotiations with China and India to take place soon.

“Xi will want to use the summit as an opportunity to show how it begins to look like an international order post-linked by the United States and that all White House efforts since January to combat China, Iran, Russia and now India have not had the desired effect,” said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of The China-Global South Project, a research agency.

“Just see how much the BRICS have shaken (US President) Donald Trump, which is exactly what these groups were created to do.”

This year’s summit will be the largest since OCS foundation in 2001, a China Foreign Ministry official said last week, calling the block “important force in building a new type of international relations”.

The security block, which began as a group of six Eurasian nations, has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 observing and dialogue countries in recent years. Its scope also expanded from safety and fighting terrorism for economic and military cooperation.

Fuzzy Implementation

Analysts say expansion is a priority for many participating countries, but they agree that the bloc has not presented substantial cooperation results over the years and that China values ​​the vision of solidarity of the Global South against the United States at a time of erratic policy formulation and geopolitical flow.

“OCS needs the OCS represents and its practical implementation is quite foggy. It is a platform with increasing convening power, which helps in narrative projection,” said Manoj Kewalramani, president of the Indo-Pacific Research Program of Think Takshashila Institution in Bangalore.

“But SCO’s effectiveness in addressing substantial security issues remains very limited.”

The friction persists between the main members, India and Pakistan. The meeting of June defense ministers was unable to adopt a joint statement after India raised objections, claiming that it omitted a reference to the April 22 deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Caxemira Indiana, which led to the worst conflict in decades between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi also refused to join OCS conviction to Israeli attacks on Iran, a Member State in early June.

But the recent distension between India and China after five years of intense border friction, as well as the renewed tariff pressure on New Delhi by the Trump administration, are increasing the expectations of a positive meeting between Xi and Modi on the edge of the summit.

“It is likely that (New Delhi) swallows pride and leave this year’s OCS problems behind, in an attempt to maintain the rhythm in distension with China, which is a fundamental priority of Modi right now,” said Olander.

India priorities in OCS include trade, connectivity, respect for territorial sovereignty and integrity, said Tanmaya Lal, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India. Modi must also hold bilateral meetings parallel to the summit.

Analysts expect India and China to announce new incremental border measures such as troop removal, flexibility of commercial restrictions and visas, cooperation in new areas, including climate, and greater government and interpersonal engagement.

Despite the lack of substantial political advertisements in the summit, experts warn that the bloc’s appeal to global southern countries should not be underestimated.

“This summit is about optics, really powerful optics,” added Olander.
Modi is expected to leave China after the summit, while Putin will remain in Beijing for a World War II military parade at the end of the week, over an exceptionally long period outside Russia.

Originally published by Reuters on 08/26/2025

By Laurie Cen

Edition: Raju GopalakrishNan