SCO summit in China amid Trump's tariffs, there will be no trilateral meeting between Modi-Putin-Jinping

International News: Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and other leaders at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit starting in Tianjin on Sunday. The summit will be a show of strength against the tariff war waged by the US against China and India, although sources say there will be no trilateral meeting. There will be no one-on-one Modi-Putin-Jinping meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached China on Saturday afternoon. He was given a grand welcome at the airport. This is Prime Minister Modi's first visit to China since 2018. His arrival in China is another step towards improving relations between India and China which deteriorated in 2020 after the clashes in the Galwan Valley.

SCO summit amid Trump's tariff dispute

The summit of the SCO - a regional security grouping - is taking place at a time when various countries are grappling with US President Donald Trump's trade war and open tariff threats, including New Delhi which has been slapped with a 50% tariff. Russia is grappling with sanctions while China faces the threat of 200% tariffs after Trump warned that the US would impose a 200% tariff on Beijing's products if it bans exports of rare-earth magnets.

Against this backdrop, the SCO has emerged as the cornerstone of the global power balance campaign of Xi Jinping, Putin and India, all of whom have been in favour of a multipolar world, which the US has always opposed.

Chinese officials have described the upcoming summit as the SCO's largest ever. Jinping wants to use the occasion to project China as a stable and powerful alternative, at a time when the current superpower - the US - is shaking up alliances around the world.

Modi-Putin-Jinping will be seen on one stage

The summit will also be an opportunity for Putin to share the stage with his two biggest customers of Russian oil – China and India. India has been hit by an additional 25% tariff imposed by Trump as a punishment for buying Russian energy and defence products, while no such duty has been imposed on China. Prime Minister Modi has resisted the Trump administration's pressure to stop buying Russian oil, which the US claims has fuelled Putin's "war machine in Ukraine".

Before arriving in China, Putin praised his ties with Beijing and called it a “stabilizing force” for the world. He told Chinese state news agency Xinhua that Russia and China are “united in our vision of building a just, multipolar world order.”

Who will participate in SCO Summit 2025?

The SCO, which includes China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, controls a large share of the world's energy resources and represents about 40% of the global population.

Among the participants in the summit, some countries, such as India and Pakistan, have rivalries and huge differences in political systems. The prime ministers of the two countries will attend the event – ​​their first meeting since the Pahalgam terror attack and India's Operation Sindoor.

Modi Attends Amid Trump Tensions

PM Modi did not attend last year’s summit in Kazakhstan; he will, however, attend the Tianjin summit, which comes at a time when New Delhi-Washington relations have soured following Trump’s surprise anti-India moves, including 50% tariffs and growing closeness with Pakistan.

SCO Summit Welcomes Global Delegations

Delegations from the SCO's 16 partner and observer countries - including Cambodia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and NATO member Turkey - are expected to attend the summit, Chinese officials said. Beijing has also invited some Southeast Asian leaders, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also likely to attend.

When PM Modi, Putin and Jinping take the stage for the summit, the US will not be present; however, analysts believe Trump is likely to dominate the discussion.