Modi’s Speech in Spotlight
SCO Summit 2025 underway in Tianjin! Leaders from 9 nations unite amid US tariffs, boosting multipolarity.
Talks on trade, security & tech could reshape global alliances. A new world order takes shape! #SCOSummit #Multipolarity #Geopolitics— Rukumis (@RukumisG) August 31, 2025
Tianjin: The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit opened on Sunday night with Chinese President Xi Jinping hosting a glittering banquet for world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Welcoming guests alongside First Lady Peng Liyuan, Xi rolled out the red carpet in Tianjin, which is hosting the bloc’s biggest-ever gathering. The summit has drawn leaders of all 10 SCO member states, 20 foreign heads of state and government, and chiefs of 10 international organisations, among them UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The formal proceedings begin Monday at a specially built convention centre where leaders are expected to adopt the SCO’s development blueprint for the next decade. Prime Minister Modi’s address will be closely watched, coming amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war and his weekend meeting with Xi—moves widely seen as shaping the global balance in the near future.
In his welcome speech, Xi said the SCO carries “greater responsibility” for safeguarding regional peace and driving growth in an increasingly uncertain world. He voiced confidence that the summit would strengthen unity among members, amplify the voice of the Global South, and give new momentum to global cooperation.
Formed in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has grown from six founding members into a 26-nation platform that today represents nearly half the world’s population and a quarter of its economy. With China, Russia and India at its core, the bloc is seen as a counterweight in the evolving world order.
Tianjin, one of China’s high-tech hubs, has been virtually sealed off for the summit, with residents advised to stay indoors or temporarily move out. The city is also hosting more than 3,000 journalists covering the event.
Ahead of the formal session, Xi held a series of bilateral meetings, including one with Prime Minister Modi. He described Tianjin as a symbol of China’s reform and innovation, saying the city would inject “new vitality” into the organisation’s future growth.
The Tianjin summit, already the largest in SCO’s history, is expected to set the tone for the bloc’s next decade of cooperation.
Updated
