Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in Tianjin, China, on August 31, 2025, marking the beginning of a four-day diplomatic mission that has drawn the world’s attention to the evolving power dynamics in Eurasia. The visit, which includes participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and attendance at a historic military parade in Beijing, underscores not only Russia’s strategic pivot eastward but also the growing influence of the SCO as a counterweight to Western alliances.
The SCO summit, hosted in the bustling port city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025, brought together more than 20 foreign leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to RBC News, the summit’s agenda centered on intensifying cooperation in security, trade, and infrastructure, as well as exploring new formats for partner interaction. The event’s scale and participation list highlight the organization’s growing appeal as a platform for non-Western countries seeking alternatives to the traditional Western-led international order.
Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the SCO has steadily expanded its membership. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, Iran in 2023, and Belarus became the newest member in 2024. With 16 additional countries affiliated as observers or dialogue partners, the SCO now represents a significant bloc, both in terms of population and geopolitical clout. As reported by Digital Journal, China and Russia have often promoted the SCO as an alternative to NATO, touting its focus on sovereignty, non-interference, and multipolarity.
Putin’s visit comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tension. Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine and China’s assertive stance over Taiwan have placed both nations at odds with the United States and its allies. Against this backdrop, the SCO summit offered Moscow and Beijing a stage to showcase solidarity and project their vision for a "fairer multipolar world order." In an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency, Putin emphasized the summit’s significance, stating, "The summit will strengthen the SCO’s capacity to respond to contemporary challenges and threats, and consolidate solidarity across the shared Eurasian space. All this will help shape a fairer multipolar world order."
Experts see the SCO’s growing role as both a reflection of and a catalyst for shifting global alliances. Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, explained to AFP that "China has long sought to present the SCO as a non-Western-led power bloc that promotes a new type of international relations, which, it claims, is more democratic." Loh added, "The large-scale participation indicates China’s growing influence and the SCO’s appeal as a platform for non-Western countries." Lizzi Lee of the Asia Society Policy Institute echoed this view, noting that the organization is "framed as something different, built around sovereignty, non-interference, and multipolarity, which the Chinese tout as a model."
The summit’s "SCO Plus" format included member states, observer states, and dialogue partners, enabling a broad spectrum of bilateral and multilateral discussions. On the sidelines, Putin held talks with Erdoğan, Pezeshkian, and Modi, focusing on issues ranging from the Ukraine conflict and Tehran’s nuclear program to regional trade and security. According to Digital Journal, these meetings were particularly significant given recent events: India had just been hit by a sharp increase in U.S. tariffs as punishment for its continued purchases of Russian oil, and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China was his first since 2018, following years of tense relations and a deadly border clash in 2020.
In addition to the summit, Putin’s itinerary included a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing and attendance at a massive military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II. The parade, scheduled for September 3, 2025, symbolized not only historical remembrance but also the current strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing. The Kremlin’s press service highlighted that joint projects and roadmaps for further regional dialogue were also on the agenda, reflecting a desire to deepen practical cooperation beyond political rhetoric.
The presence of so many leaders from across Eurasia and beyond—ranging from Belarus and North Korea to Egypt and Cambodia—underscored the SCO’s expanding reach and the desire among many states to hedge against Western dominance. As Lim Tai Wei, a professor at Japan’s Soka University, told AFP, "Putin needs all the benefits of SCO as a player on the world stage and also the support of the second largest economy in the world." Lim also pointed to Russia’s interest in courting India, especially as trade frictions with the United States create opportunities for Moscow to strengthen ties with New Delhi.
Yet, the summit was not without its complications. Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto cancelled his trip amid widespread demonstrations at home, and not all invited leaders attended the Beijing parade. Nevertheless, the event’s turnout was robust, and the breadth of participation signaled a willingness among many governments to engage with China’s vision of a new, multipolar international order.
This year’s summit followed the 24th SCO gathering in Astana in July 2024, where Putin, Xi, and Erdoğan also took part. Since its founding, the SCO has evolved from a modest security grouping into a major platform for regional dialogue and cooperation. As the world’s attention turned to Tianjin and Beijing, the message from the SCO’s leaders was clear: Eurasia is determined to carve out its own path, with new institutions and rules that reflect the interests and aspirations of its diverse members.
With the dust settling on the summit and the echoes of the military parade still reverberating, the implications of Putin’s visit and the SCO’s growing influence will likely be felt far beyond the conference halls of Tianjin. As the organization continues to expand and assert itself, the balance of power in the region—and perhaps the world—may be entering a new era.