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Xi Jinping welcomes world leaders ahead of SCO summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping began hosting foreign leaders on Saturday in Tianjin, northern China, ahead of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Among the first to meet Xi were United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, according to official media.
Bilateral meetings are scheduled alongside the SCO summit, set for Sunday and Monday in the northern port megacity. Around twenty heads of state and government, along with officials from multiple regional and international organizations, are expected to attend. Notable participants include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The SCO brings together ten member states and sixteen observer or partner countries, representing nearly half of the world’s population and a significant share of global GDP. Often described as a counterweight to NATO, the organization has positioned itself as a model of multilateral diplomacy.
This summit, described as the largest since the SCO’s founding in 2001, occurs amid multiple crises affecting its members, including U.S.-China and U.S.-India trade confrontations, tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the war in Ukraine, and Iran’s nuclear dispute. The Chinese government plans to showcase its military power later this week with a grand parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which will include North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.