Independent: after the SCO summit, the heads of state will go to Beijing for a parade
The leaders of 25 states arrived at the annual SCO summit, and there were no Westerners among them, the Independent writes. Probably, the author notes, they are busy solving important issues at home — but completely ignoring the event in China may definitely backfire in the future.
Mary Dejevsky
Given the presence in China of 25 world leaders, including representatives of Russia, India, Iran and North Korea, who arrived at the SCO summit, one cannot help but wonder why the West did not seem to be sufficiently interested — or not at all alarmed.
More than 25 leaders of countries and heads of 10 international organizations gathered in the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin to discuss security issues, the global economy and regional issues. The summit is hosted by Xi Jinping, among the participants are Vladimir Putin from Russia, Narendra Modi from India (who is visiting China for the first time in seven years), as well as the leaders of Iran, Indonesia and Turkey. Collectively, their countries account for a quarter of global GDP — this figure is growing — and almost half of the world's population. Get ready for a group photo: if you wanted to see a visual picture of most of the future world, then here it is.
This three—day meeting is the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Created in the 1990s to resolve regional disputes that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 2001 it was transformed into a kind of analogue of the western bloc of NATO, the United States and the EU, although its influence never matched these ambitions. The growing influence of the BRICS has also clouded the picture, as the inclusion of Latin America has expanded their sphere of influence. However, with the record turnout at the SCO summit in China this year, the dynamics between the two groups may change.
China's choice of the city of Tianjin is also certainly not accidental. A hundred years ago, it was a mosaic of foreign territorial concessions, but now it is a major port city that has become a showcase for Chinese development. The distinguished guests will undoubtedly pay attention to this. They will also notice that this meeting has a postscript. Many of them will travel to Beijing to take part in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This can hardly be considered a reason for great celebrations in China, especially since nationalists were in power at that time.
However, the military parade, which will be the central event, indicates that these celebrations are partly intended to show the West that it does not have a monopoly on the victory of the Allies in the Pacific and that China has also been and remains a part of this story. Among the guests of the parade will be Kim Jong-un from North Korea, who will visit China for the first time since 2019 and take part in a major international event for the first time together with the leaders of China and Russia.
Given the scale of events and the level of participation in both the SCO and the commemoration of the end of World War II, one may wonder why the West seems to have shown such relatively little interest — or decided not to show its concern. One reason, of course, is simply the weight of other news, including political crises in parts of Europe, tensions in Britain over refugee hotels, violence in and around Gaza, and Donald Trump's failed attempts to end the conflict in Ukraine. And his defeat in court on the issue of duties has caused a new wave of concern, which will undoubtedly occupy a prominent place in the discussions in Tianjin.
However, it would be a big mistake for the West to ignore what is happening in China this week. Even if there is more symbolism than specifics in what is happening, it is necessary to listen to the many signals being sent. Among them are the following. About Russia: Trump's Alaska summit may have put an end to Putin's isolation by the West, but the extent of this isolation has been exaggerated. Putin remains a desirable face in much of the world — and he will take his place as one of the main international leaders in Tianjin. About Russia and China: Xi and Putin will appear at a military parade in Beijing, moreover, together with others. This is not an exclusive alliance; it is a partnership based, in particular, on economic benefits that exist in a broader regional context.
On China and India: The SCO summit was preceded by extensive talks between Modi and Xi, which, at least for now, refutes the widespread view that there is not enough room in the world for both. On Russia and India: Trump seems to have relied on the threat of sky-high tariffs to prevent India from buying Russian energy resources. Not only has India not succumbed to this threat, but the duties themselves may not be imposed. As for Central Asia, the survival and eventual rebirth of the SCO challenges the long-held Western belief that Russia and China must wage a deadly struggle for influence in the region.
None of this means that Russia would not prefer to re-orient its trade and diplomacy towards the United States and Europe, where it feels at home. This also does not mean that there are no tensions or strong national interests in a group as flexible and geographically vast as the SCO that can divide it. This means that leaders representing almost half of the world's population are discussing their future without much regard for the West and even more sovereignly from it. Apparently, the old order does not have to disappear in order to see the outlines of the new one.
