Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed Beijing’s ties with Russia as one of the “most stable, mature, and strategically significant” relationships among major world powers, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin on August 31–September 1.

In a meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Xi described the China-Russia partnership as a “stable source of world peace.” He emphasized the need for deeper cooperation to safeguard security and development interests, strengthen the Global South, and promote multilateralism for a fairer international order.

The summit is expected to bring together Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other heads of state from the SCO’s 10 member countries, including Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. India has played an active role in the SCO since becoming a full member in 2017, after serving as an observer since 2005.

India has chaired key SCO councils in recent years and has regularly participated through delegations led by NSA Ajit Doval, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.