Bishkek: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Xi Jinping, President of China are set to join other senior leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan on August 31, 2026.
The annual gathering in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek comes as the SCO marks 25 years since its founding. The organisation traditionally focuses on economic cooperation. Moscow and Beijing have also used the platform to promote a vision of a multipolar world and demonstrate closer alignment in opposition to Western influence.
The SCO’s founding declaration states that the organisation is not an alliance directed against other states. However, recent summits have featured strong criticism of Western policies. Putin accused Western countries of provoking the war in Ukraine, while Xi also criticised what Beijing describes as acts of intimidation amid tensions between China and the United States.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that the United States will encourage G20 members to reconsider trade terms with China. Bessent has described China’s $1.2 trillion (AED 4.4 trillion) global trade surplus as unsustainable.
Bessent also planned a bilateral meeting with People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng during the G20 conference. Bessent has not disclosed further details about the proposed discussions.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to attend the Bishkek summit. Turkiye is not a full SCO member but is among the organisation’s dialogue partners.
Pezeshkian is expected to hold bilateral discussions with Putin during the meeting. Foreign ministers from Russia and Iran held talks in July during a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. Iran joined the organisation in 2023 and maintains close military ties with Russia while strengthening energy links with China.
The SCO has 10 permanent members, including Russia, China, India and Pakistan. Another 15 countries are connected as dialogue partners. India and Pakistan are also full members and their leaders are expected to take part in the summit.
The organisation remarks that its members account for around 40 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of global GDP. The gathering also comes against the backdrop of renewed US-China trade tensions.
YOU MAY LIKE | Europe’s gas storage drops to lowest level in 13 years
