Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping boasted Wednesday that their regional security alliance was a global force that would serve as a counterweight to Western influence.
“The organization has firmly established itself as one of the key pillars of a fair, multipolar world order,” Putin said of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The SCO was founded in 2001 with Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The group has since expanded to include India, Iran, and Pakistan. Most of the leaders are meeting this week in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
This year, Belarus will attend the Astana summit for the first time as a full member of the SCO, according to the Kremlin. Also attending is United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Despite having a seat at the table, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is skipping the summit, choosing instead to meet Putin in Moscow next week. Modi is sending his minister of external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in his place.
Kazakh children, waving flags, sang in Chinese to greet Xi when he arrived on Tuesday. Putin arrived Wednesday.
Putin and Xi have already met and spoken, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency.
“The organization has firmly established itself as one of the key pillars of a fair, multipolar world order,” Putin said. During his opening remarks, he said the alliance isn’t “aimed against anyone.”
“We are not creating any blocs or alliances, we are just acting in the interests of our peoples,” Putin said.
Xi said during his opening remarks that China and Russia should “uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations” in response to an “ever-changing international situation.”
Xi and Putin have pushed the narrative that a U.S.-dominated era is fading. China is one of America’s biggest competitors, while Russia is one of its biggest threats.
Though it did not directly cite NATO’s expansion or the war in Ukraine, in which the West has provided money and military assistance, the group called out the “unilateral and unlimited expansion of global missile defense systems by certain countries or groups of countries,” during last year’s summit.
This year, Xi is expected to use his time to push his vision of building better transportation links across the region. Following the summit, he is scheduled to make a state visit to Tajikistan, where the U.S. State Department estimates China is responsible for more than 99% of its foreign investment. China inked a deal last month to build a new rail line across Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which will give China a shortcut for trade with Iran, Afghanistan, and beyond.
China has spent more than a decade trying to expand rail traffic across Russia to carry its exports to Europe. However, now, it has its sights set on a southerly route.
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Russia’s interest lies in maintaining access to Central Asian markets to get around tough Western sanctions.
Since the war in Ukraine broke out, Russia has relied on Central Asian intermediaries to obtain billions of dollars’ worth of Western goods, such as luxury cars and electronic components it uses in military production.
