Beijing, August 22 – China announced on Friday that the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin will be the largest in the bloc’s history, with 20 world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, set to participate.
The summit, scheduled for August 31 to September 1, will bring together leaders from the 10-member grouping, alongside invited partners and observers. It marks the fifth time China is hosting the high-level event.
“This will be the largest summit in the history of the SCO,” China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin told reporters at a media briefing. Liu confirmed that Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Putin, Prime Minister Modi, and several other heads of state and government will be in attendance.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a political, economic, and security alliance that includes China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Iran joining as a full member in 2023. The forum focuses on regional security, economic cooperation, and counterterrorism efforts.
The upcoming summit comes at a time of heightened global tensions and shifting alliances, making it a closely watched event for signals on how the bloc’s leading powers—China, Russia, and India—navigate cooperation amid competing priorities.