Overview

• Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a vehicle for a fairer, non‑hegemonic global order and attacked U.S. power politics.
• China pledged 2,000 million yuan in grants and 10,000 million yuan in loans for SCO members, announced an AI cooperation centre and invited partners to its lunar research station.
• Narendra Modi’s meetings in Tianjin signaled a thaw with Beijing, with both sides calling each other partners rather than rivals in his first trip to China in seven years.
• Putin arrived seeking political and economic reinforcement, met Xi and planned talks with Modi as Moscow thanks China and India for oil purchases that have helped offset Western sanctions and new U.S. tariffs on Indian exports.
• Chinese state media billed the gathering as the largest SCO summit yet, with a Beijing military parade on September 3 expected to extend the show of alignment, including attendance by Putin and reportedly Kim Jong‑un.