Putin and Xi meet at SCO summit in sign of deepening cooperation

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

This second in-person meeting in as many months is widely seen as a show of deepening cooperation between the two countries.

Putin and Xi last met in May when the Kremlin leader visited Beijing to underscore their close partnership.

The two countries established the SCO in 2001 as a counterbalance to Western influence and to discuss security concerns in Central Asia and the wider region.

Its other members include Iran, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

After meeting with Xi, Putin said relations between the two countries were experiencing “the best period in their history”.

“They are built on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for each other's sovereignty. Our cooperation is not directed against anyone. We do not create any blocs or alliances, we simply act in the interests of our peoples."

Both Russia and China are facing increasing tensions with the West, and Putin wants to show that Moscow is not isolated by Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Putin held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO gathering, saying that the close partnership seeks to promote a more “multipolar world order”.

Addressing the summit, Xi described Putin as an “old friend" and urged regional leaders to consolidate their unity in the face of “the real challenge of interference and division”.

The SCO promotes a common approach to external security threats, such as drug trafficking, and also focuses on countering any domestic instability.