Putin and Modi join Xi at landmark Summit in China

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China – the largest gathering since the bloc’s creation in 2001. Modi, visiting China for the first time in seven years, is holding talks with President Xi Jinping, while Putin arrived to a red-carpet welcome.

The summit, which also includes Pakistan and Iran among its 10 members, comes amid strained global dynamics. India faces steep US tariffs imposed by President Trump over its purchases of Russian oil, while Moscow continues to face sanctions threats over the war in Ukraine.

Although largely symbolic, the meeting provides a platform for leaders to air grievances against the West and explore shared interests. In Tianjin, the event has become a major spectacle, with banners, billboards and nightly lightshows drawing huge crowds, despite heavy security, traffic disruptions and police urging residents to limit movement.

via BBC