Xi hobnobs with Modi, Putin & world leaders at China summit amidst US tensions, decries 'bullying behaviour'

China's President Xi Jinping met with the leaders of 25 Eurasian nations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin, China, today (Sep. 1).

The leaders were gathered for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations (SCO) summit from Aug. 31 to Sep. 1, which involved all ten member nations of the SCO as well as 16 other observing and "dialogue partner" countries.

Among other leaders in attendance were Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

'Bullying behaviour'

Xi reportedly criticised the "bullying behaviour" of certain other countries during a speech on the second day of the summit, which may have been an allusion to the U.S. amidst trade tensions.

He said that "the security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging" and urged them to "oppose cold war mentality, bloc confrontation, and bullying", The Guardian quoted.

"We must uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core."

In his speech following Xi's, Putin also blamed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on "the West".

He claimed that the war was not triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but rather "a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the west", repeating a sentiment he previously made without evidence on multiple occasions.

"The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO," he added.

Xi and Putin, who once claimed to have a "limitless" partnership between their countries, also discussed Putin's Aug. 15 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, The Guardian said.

Putin claimed that he has reached "understandings" with Trump over the end of the war, BBC reported, though he stopped short of saying he would agree to peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump has also apparently given him a Sep. 1 deadline for a response, Putin said.

Tensions with US

This year's summit comes against a backdrop of global trade and political tensions owing to tariffs imposed by Trump.

China, Russia and India have been among targets of Trump's highest tariff threats, with India's amount being doubled from the original 25 per cent for their purchase of Russian oil and military equipment which Trump has claimed funds Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ties between Russia and the U.S. have also soured dramatically in recent months, with Trump threatening a 100 per cent tariff on Russia in July if Putin failed to end the Ukraine invasion by a stipulated deadline.

Despite him repeatedly alluding to Putin's lack of trustworthiness in keeping his word, the two leaders later met in Alaska in an attempt to discuss a ceasefire, but with no immediate outcome.

Meanwhile, China has repeatedly threatened reciprocal tariffs on the U.S. in retaliation, with numbers soaring as high as 145 per cent early this year.

The rates were most recently set at 30 per cent from the U.S. on Chinese goods, and 10 per cent tariffs from China on American imports, which are set to come into effect on Nov. 10.

What is the SCO?

The SCO is a Eurasian political and security bloc that includes Russia.

This year's summit was the largest of its five iterations so far, with the last held in 2024.

Its aims to challenge U.S.-led, western-dominated blocs such as NATO, according to The Guardian.

The meeting in Tianjin also marks the first time that Modi had visited China as Prime Minister in seven years, just days after India was slapped with a 50 per cent tariff by Trump on Aug. 27.

Top images via Narendra Modi/Facebook