China's Xi Jinping has urged the leaders of Russia, Iran and other Shanghai Alliance states on Tuesday to boost ties and resist sanctions, as Vladimir Putin thanked the bloc for support during a failed Wagner rebellion.
Xi Jinping made the request during a video conference held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and hosted by India.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization established by China and Russia in 2001.
China and Russia have, in recent years, ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts, with their strategic partnership deepening since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which on Tuesday welcomed Iran as its ninth member, encompasses a vast stretch of the globe from Moscow to Beijing and includes around half the world's population when observer and "dialogue partner" nations are included.
During the virtual meeting, Xi "called for efforts to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security", state news agency Xinhua said, adding that he urged SCO member states to "enhance their solidarity".
While China says it is a neutral party to the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticised by Western nations for refusing to condemn Moscow's offensive.
Putin, speaking via video link at the meeting - his first summit since a short-lived mutiny last month by Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin - thanked the Beijing-headquartered SCO for its support.
"Russia is confidently resisting and will continue to resist external pressure, sanctions and provocations," Putin said.
"I would like to thank my colleagues from the SCO countries who expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership to protect the constitutional order and the life and security of citizens," he added.
Iran joins, Belarus next
Iran joined as a full member of the grouping on Tuesday, after Tehran intensified its diplomatic efforts with friends and foes alike in recent months, as it seeks to reduce its isolation and improve its economy.
Tehran's membership will support "collective security...expanding ties and communications (and) strengthening unity", Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said.
According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, Tehran submitted its initial application to the alliance 15 years ago.
Its candidacy was only approved in 2021 during a session in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe in September 2021.
Alongside summit host India, other full members include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Russia's ally Belarus, which holds observer status, was also told it could become a member at the next SCO summit.
Concern
Iran's membership feeds int concerns of some critics who are worried about "Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran coming together. This grouping brings together a collection of countries that are inherently anti-Western in their orientation" Harsh V. Pant, a professor with King's College in London, said.
During a press conference preceding this week’s SCO meeting, however, the organisation's Secretary General, Zhang Ming, rejected any comparison between the SCO and Nato, saying that the Shanghai club “never sought to compare itself” with the transatlantic alliance, while following “its own path and strive to promote peace,” adding that the SCO is not a political or a military bloc.
Pant, of King's College, agrees. "If this kind of an axis is to be formed, it will be formed independent of the SCO, because the Central Asians and countries like India do not see SCO as inherently anti-West," Pant told French press agency AFP.
‘EU Strategic Autonomy’
Meanwhile, the EU is moving towards less dependence on the US while French President Emmanuel Macron is a strong proponent of a more independent strategy vis-a-vis global affairs.
During a controversial visit to China in April this year, Macron emphasised "the importance of European unity while not following the US or China's agendas."
"Europe must establish its own interests and move at its own pace, and not become a vassal of either power," he said.
His ideas reflect a larger EU view expressed in a 2022 in a European Parliament briefing "EU Strategic Autonomy 2013-2023" focusing on a strengthening of Brussels' institutions independent from the US.
But SCO Secretary Zhang Ming, although recognizing that the EU is “started showing interest” in the SCO, resulting in high level-meetings “from time to time,” avoided answering a question about the possibility of cooperation between the blocs today.
The widening gap between China and the EU was further illustrated by Beijing cancelling a visit for next week by the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The senior EU official was due to head to China for talks with foreign minister Qin Gang, after earlier having to delay a trip in April due to a Covid infection.
The cancellation comes after EU leaders at a summit in Brussels last week backed a strategy aimed at reducing the bloc's dependency on China for key tech and components.
(With pressagencies)
