Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday opened a major summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), attended by more than 20 world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leaders from the ten SCO member states posed for a group photograph on a red carpet in Tianjin, with Xi, Putin, and Modi seen chatting ahead of the two-day gathering.

In his opening speech, Xi criticised what he described as “bullying behaviour” in the current world order, urging member states to resist Cold War mentality, bloc confrontations, and unilateralism. “We must adhere to fairness and justice… oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behaviour,” Xi said, as he called on the regional alliance to strengthen cooperation in both security and development amid rising global instability.

The SCO, which includes China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, has often been presented by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to NATO. With 16 additional countries holding observer or dialogue partner status, the bloc continues to expand its global reach. Xi stressed the importance of the “Shanghai spirit” in navigating global turbulence, saying the organisation must “keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better perform its functions” in the face of mounting international challenges.