The leaders of China, Russia, India and Central Asian countries arrived in Uzbekistan on Thursday for a summit dedicated to security, which Beijing and Moscow hope will serve as a counterweight to US military alliances.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is made up of eight members, including (along with China, Russia and Uzbekistan), India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and is taking place at a time when the Russian leader Vladimir Putin is diplomatically isolated. after invading Ukraine.
China’s relations with the United States, Europe, Japan and India are also increasingly tense over issues spanning trade, technology, security, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. and in the Himalayas.
In a statement, the Kremlin said the Russian leader would meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to discuss the war in Ukraine and other “international and regional issues.”
The summit will show an “alternative” to the Western world, a Russian government spokesman described.
It is also Xi Jinping’s first foreign trip since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, and comes just weeks before the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the most important event on the Chinese political agenda, underscoring Beijing’s desire to assert itself as a regional power.
Xi was received at the Samarkand airport by his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also arrive today, according to his government, although there is no indication that he will meet separately with Xi or Putin.
Relations between China and India are going through a period of renewed tension, due to clashes between soldiers from both sides, in a disputed border area in the Himalayas.
The Chinese leader will promote the “Global Security Initiative”, announced last April after the formation of the Quad group by the United States, Japan, Australia and India, in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy.
Xi said the initiative aims to “uphold the principle of indivisibility of security” and “oppose the construction of national security at the expense of the security of other countries.”
US officials noted that the Chinese objectives echo the arguments used by Russia to justify the war in Ukraine.
The Central Asian region occupies an important position in China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which aims to open new trade routes through the construction of a port, railway lines and other infrastructure, connecting East Asia with Europe, Middle East and Africa. .
Chinese plans in Central Asia have fueled concern in Russia, which sees the region as part of its sphere of influence. Kazakhstan and neighboring countries are trying to attract Chinese investment without upsetting Moscow.
Xi paid a one-day visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, en route to Uzbekistan.
Source: TSF
