All Eyes On Xi-Modi-Putin Troika As SCO Summit Opens Today Amid Trump's Tariff Heat

Last Updated:August 30, 2025, 23:40 IST

SCO Summit 2025: PM Modi, Jinping and Putin will share stage at Tianjin summit, amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump on tariffs for India and China, and sanctions for Russia.

SCO Summit 2025: All eyes on Modi, Jinping and Putin meeting (AFP File Image)

SCO Summit 2025: Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and other leaders for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, starting Sunday, in what will be a show of strength against the United States’ tariff war waged against China and India.

Jinping will welcome PM Modi and Putin personally, Reuters had reported earlier. This will be PM Modi’s first visit to China since 2018. His arrival in China marks another step between India and China to reset ties that were soured in 2020 after the Galwan Valley clashes.

SCO Summit Amid Trump Tariff Heat

The Summit of the SCO – a regional security grouping – comes at a time when various countries are battling US President Donald Trump’s trade war and brazen tariff threats, including New Delhi which has been imposed with 50% levies. Russia is suffering from sanctions, while China faces the threat of 200% tariffs, as Trump warned that if Beijing restricts exports of rare-earth magnets, America would impose a 200% tariff on its goods.

Against this backdrop, the SCO has emerged as a cornerstone of Jinping, Putin, and India’s drive to rebalance global power – all of whom have been vocal for a multipolar world, something the US has always opposed.

The Chinese officials have described the upcoming summit as the SCO’s largest yet, with Jinping eyeing the occasion to tout China as a stable and powerful alternative at a time when the current superpower – the US – is shaking up alliances across the globe, CNN reported.

The Summit will also mark an opportunity for Putin to share the stage with China and India – two of his largest customers of Russian oil. India has been slapped with 25% additional Trump tariffs as punishment for buying Russian energy and defence products, while no such levies were made on China for the same. PM Modi has shown defiance against the Trump administration’s pressure to stop buying Russian oil in what America claimed fueled Putin’s “war machine in Ukraine".

Ahead of his arrival in China, Putin lauded his relationship with Beijing, calling it a “stabilising force" for the world. He told Chinese state news agency Xinhua that Russia, China were “united in our vision of building a just, multipolar world order".

Who Will Attend 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 those attending the Summit, some have rivalries and vast differences in political systems, such as India and Pakistan. The Prime Ministers of both countries will participate in the event – their first encounter since the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor.

PM Modi skipped last year’s summit in Kazakhstan; however, he will attend the Tianjin Summit, which comes as New Delhi-Washington ties have soured since Trump’s surprising anti-India moves, including 50% tariffs and increasing proximity with Pakistan.

Chinese officials said delegations from the SCO’s 16 partner and observer countries — including Cambodia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and NATO member Turkey — are expected at the summit. Beijing has also invited some Southeast Asian leaders, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is likely to attend, CNN reported.

America Absent, Yet Present

As PM Modi, Putin, and Jinping take the stage for the Summit, the US will not be present; however, Trump’s discussion is likely on the table, analysts believe.

“For this particular summit, the US may not be at the table, but the US is always present," Yun Sun, director of the China Programme at the Washington-based Stimson Center, told CNN.

Trump will nonetheless be the talk of Tianjin, the American outlet reported.

“The one thing that they’re going to talk about is the United States, its policies, its tariffs," Sushant Singh, lecturer in South Asian Studies at Yale University, predicted.

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