This is the logo of "2025 Meet Shanghe Bloom Tianjin Color" located in the back square of Tianjin Station (photo of UAV, taken on August 22). Source: Xinhua Agency

The "Shanghai Cooperation Time" is about to kick off in Tianjin.

The 2025 SCO Summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. This summit is one of the most important diplomatic events of the Chinese government this year, and it will also be the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO. So what are the highlights of the upcoming summit?

The largest summit since the establishment of the SCO

The SCO was established on June 15, 2001. The founding members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. After 24 years of development, the SCO has expanded from 6 members to 10, making it the largest and most populous comprehensive regional cooperation organization in the world. In addition, the organization currently has 2 observer states in Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 14 dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Myanmar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait). The SCO has now developed into a "SCO family" covering 26 countries on three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, which is the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, is organized by the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and is held once a year. The meeting makes decisions and instructions on all major issues within the organization. This summit is the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO. According to previously announced information by China, more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations will attend the summit.

According to the list previously announced by China, in addition to the heads of state or government of SCO member states, the foreign leaders invited to attend the summit also include Mongolia President Khurri Sukh, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet, Turkish President Erdogan, Indonesian President Prabowo, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President Thongloun, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, and Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Zheng. In addition, heads of international organizations and multilateral mechanisms such as United Nations Secretary-General Guterres, SCO Secretary-General Yermekbayev, ASEAN Secretary-General Gao Jinhong will also be invited to attend the summit.

This is the fifth time China has hosted an SCO summit, the last being in 2018.

Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin previously said that if China's rotating presidency is a key stage in the development of the SCO, then the summit is a key node in this crucial stage and is of great significance.

Zhu Yongbiao, professor at the Institute of Central Asia at Lanzhou University, accepts the surging news (www.thepaper.cn) During the interview, the analysis believed that the scale of the Tianjin Summit was larger than that of previous ones, on the one hand, it reflects the importance that various countries attach to relations with China and hope to further develop relations with China; second, in the current context of intertwined incidents, everyone's pursuit of peace and development is stronger than before, and the SCO's "Shanghai Spirit" and purpose are more recognized. The results and results achieved have made the SCO's influence and attraction continue to expand.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit is held once a year

The summit is expected to achieve a series of cooperation results

According to Liu Bin's introduction, this year's summit has three important missions: building consensus among all parties, stimulating cooperation momentum, and drawing up a development blueprint. President Xi Jinping will chair the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Member States and the "SCO +" meeting, and deliver keynote speeches at the above two meetings. In the keynote speech, the "six new" is highly anticipated.

According to Xinhua News Agency on August 23, at the summit, President Xi Jinping will propose new methods and new paths for the SCO to constructively maintain the post-World War II international order and improve the global governance system, and will jointly issue a statement with the leaders of other member states on the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. President Xi Jinping will sign and issue the Tianjin Declaration with the leaders of other member states, approve the SCO Development Strategy for the Next 10 Years, issue a statement on the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, and adopt a series of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic and people-to-people cooperation, pointing out the direction for the future development of the SCO. President Xi Jinping will also hold a welcome banquet for the leaders of the participating countries and heads of international organizations, and hold a number of intensive bilateral activities.

Previously, at the SCO Astana Summit held in July 2024, all parties adopted the Astana Declaration and the initiative on solidarity among countries to build a just and harmonious world, the statement on the principles of good-neighborliness, mutual trust and partnership, and 26 outcome documents, covering a wide range of fields such as economy, finance, security, humanities and mechanism construction.

Liu Bin said that China hopes that through the Tianjin Summit, China hopes to build political consensus with the SCO countries, stimulate cooperation momentum, issue a common voice, and take joint actions. The stability and resilience of the above SCO can cope with the uncertain and unpredictable factors in the international environment and create a good environment for the people of all countries in the region.

On August 27, at the special briefing on economic and trade cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held by the Ministry of Commerce, relevant officials introduced that in 2024, the trade volume between China and SCO member states will be approximately US$512.4 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the previous year. The scale of trade between China and SCO member states has reached a record high.

Previously, the South China Morning Post pointed out in a report on the 22nd that the scale of the summit and the large number of participating countries fully reflect China's influence in regional affairs, show the attention of neighboring countries to China's propositions and concepts, and also demonstrate that China actively plays a constructive and leading role in the "Global South" countries.

"The economic functions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are also receiving increasing attention. Against the background of relatively weak global economic growth, the more countries need to strengthen unity and cooperation and promote common development." Zhu Yongbiao said.

How will the leaders of China, Russia and India interact

What has attracted attention on this SCO multilateral platform is also bilateral interactions among major member states.

As three major countries with important influence within the SCO, how the leaders of China, Russia and India will interact at this summit has always attracted much attention.

Flags of China, Russia, and India, data map

According to a report by the Russian News Agency on August 27, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on the same day that President Putin's upcoming visit to China is "unprecedented." President Putin will attend the summit. After the summit, Putin will also participate in an event held in Beijing on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the China People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Before Putin's visit to China, on August 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his appointment. The two heads of state spoke positively of the high level of political mutual trust and strategic coordination between China and Russia, and agreed to jointly promote greater development of bilateral relations. The two sides will work together to prepare for the SCO Tianjin Summit, hold a friendly, united and fruitful summit, and promote the high-quality development of the SCO.

Asia News (CNA) published an article on the 28th saying that for Moscow, the summit is an opportunity to show that despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow is not isolated diplomatically.

In a recent interview with China Daily, Russia's ambassador to China, Sergei Morgulov, emphasized that "against the backdrop of tectonic changes and profound changes in the global geopolitical system, the SCO provides an effective cooperation model for countries committed to stability, prosperity and harmonious common development."

Referring to the bilateral interaction between China and Russia, Morgulov said that Russia is willing to work with China to strengthen the SCO's multifaceted potential and global authority, and drew attention to the unprecedented level of relations between the two countries, which is a model of constructive cooperation between major powers. He stressed that "Russia is committed to further strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination with China in all fields."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return to China after seven years has also attracted much attention. In addition to interacting with China, how India interacts with Russia and Pakistan during the summit has also attracted attention from all parties.

India has long been seen as something special because of its differences with other SCO members on specific issues, and Modi's visit to China and the SCO summit in Tianjin was widely seen as a "change of attitude".

Of course, Modi's visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Summit this time is considered to be the result of continuous improvement and natural progress in China-India relations. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. Since President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Modi successfully met in Kazan in October last year, China and India have interacted frequently at all levels, from foreign ministers, defense ministers to national security advisers, and exchanges or meetings in various fields such as diplomacy, security, and border issues have also gradually resumed, and a number of consensuses have been reached.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 19, the 24th meeting of the Special Representatives for China-India Border Issues was held in New Delhi, India. Wang Yi, Chinese Special Representative, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Indian Special Representative and National Security Adviser Doval, in accordance with the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries and in a positive and constructive attitude, discussed the China-India border issue frankly and in-depth exchange of views and reached 10 points of consensus.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said during his meeting with Wang Yi on the 19th that both India and China are ancient civilizations with a long history of friendly exchanges. The meeting between the leaders of the two countries in Kazan last October was a turning point in the improvement and development of bilateral relations. India and China are partners rather than rivals. They are both facing the common task of accelerating development. They should strengthen exchanges, enhance understanding and expand cooperation, so that the world can feel the huge potential and bright prospects of India-China cooperation. The two sides should also prudently manage and handle the border issue, and not let differences turn into disputes.

The Times of India commented that Modi came to China to attend the meeting again after seven years because he believed that the meeting was of great significance and that China's support would be crucial for India's chairmanship of the BRICS next year.

In addition, some commentators believe that India's choice this time mainly stems from the economic pressure it faces, that is, the United States has imposed additional tariffs on some Indian goods, which has put pressure on India's economic and social development and made it urgent to find a new balance point.

Modi came to China again after 7 years, data map

CNN also emphasized the "balance" core of India's trip in a report on the 27th. Manoj Kewalramani, an Indian China-educated scholar and a researcher on China at the Takeshira Institute, said in an interview with the media that although both sides know that there are still structural challenges in China-India relations, both sides realize that it is not in the interest of either party to deteriorate to this extent.

It is against this background that India's recent approach has shown a certain degree of "two sides". Just as the latest progress in Sino-Indian relations was made, many media also paid attention to the negative remarks in India related to Taiwan and Modi's trip to Japan before the summit.

According to Japanese media reports, from August 29 to 31, Modi will visit Japan to hold the annual India-Japan summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japanese government officials revealed on the 27th that Shigeru Ishiba and Modi will issue a joint statement confirming the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries on the occasion of their talks on the 29th. The two sides will position defense, security cooperation, strengthening economic cooperation and personnel exchanges as key areas.

Japan and India are both members of the US-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), and according to Japanese media reports, the two countries will also focus on strengthening their operations in the region, including joint naval exercises with the Philippines, a US military ally, in the disputed South China Sea.

In addition, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held on August 21, some reporters asked questions. According to reports, in response to the news released by China that Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar, which mentioned that India said that "Taiwan is a part of China", Indian officials clarified that the statement was misquoted, claiming that India's position on the Taiwan issue has not changed and will continue to promote economic, scientific and technological and cultural cooperation with Taiwan.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China was surprised by India's so-called "clarification". This is inconsistent with the facts. It seems that some people in India are trying to undermine China's sovereignty on the Taiwan issue and undermine the improvement of China-India relations. China expresses serious concern and firm opposition to this.