Xi, Modi and Putin set to meet for SCO summit: What’s on the agenda?

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian will convene for the inaugural meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, following the onset of the US-Iranian conflict. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to attend, accompanied by leaders from Central Asian nations, Pakistan and Belarus.

Henry Wang Huiyao, founder of the Centre for China and Globalisation research group, remarked that the unipolar world ruled by the US is waning. Nonetheless, the SCO's efforts to present a unified front in response to US sanctions against Iran may prove challenging, given the diverse interests among its members. While the bloc has experienced growth in recent years, it has struggled to establish concrete mechanisms for global action.

Analysts predict that the SCO summit will primarily see symbolic condemnation of the US, rather than substantive support for Iran. The SCO, initially established in 2001 by China and Russia, has since grown to include India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus, alongside Afghanistan and Mongolia as observers. The group constitutes over 40% of the world's population and accounts for about a quarter of global GDP.

Beijing expects to deepen cooperation with members in the face of emerging global challenges, as emphasized by Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.