Xi and Putin attack the West in front of Eurasian powerhouses

Mr. Xi denounced a "Cold War mentality" and "acts of intimidation" currently underway, in a thinly veiled reference to Washington. Mr. Putin once again accused the West of provoking the conflict in Ukraine.

Xi chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, northern China, on Monday. Heads of state and government from 10 member states and 16 partner and observer countries gathered in the port city.

Among them are Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif.

The summit, the first since Donald Trump's return to the White House, took place against a backdrop of multiple crises involving several of its members: the war in Ukraine, US tariffs on Chinese and Indian products, and the Iranian nuclear dispute.

Beijing saw in the summit, described as the most important in terms of its participation since the creation of the SCO in 2001, "the opportunity to further structure a diplomacy geared towards non-Western powers, in the service of its ambition for leadership and its rivalry with Washington," Mathieu Duchâtel, director of the Asia program at the Montaigne Institute, told AFP.

For Moscow, the summit represented "a way to demonstrate internationally that its isolation by the United States, Europe and Japan remains relative despite the invasion of Ukraine," the expert continues.

Mr. Xi called on Monday for "more just and reasonable (global) governance," in contrast to the current "Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation (and) acts of intimidation." Mr. Putin defended the Russian offensive in Ukraine, justifying it by "a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West," and by the "continuous efforts of the West to drag Ukraine into NATO."

During Vladimir Putin's visit to China, kyiv urged Beijing to be more active in promoting peace in Ukraine.

"Given the important geopolitical role of the People's Republic of China, we would welcome Beijing's more active role in restoring peace in Ukraine," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Iranian nuclear power

Mr. Putin later held bilateral meetings with his Turkish counterpart and his Iranian counterpart.

The Russian presidency had previously stated that this meeting would focus on Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran is suspected by Western countries of wanting to acquire nuclear weapons and faces threats from France, Germany and the United Kingdom of a reinstatement of sanctions that were suspended ten years ago.

Tehran, for its part, denies wanting to acquire nuclear weapons and defends its right to develop a civil nuclear program.

Iran's ally Russia has supported Tehran on this issue, as have other SCO members, who have warned against any "reinterpretation" of a UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program, at a time when the Europeans are preparing to reinstate sanctions against Tehran.

"Special relationship"

Mr. Putin also held a "face-to-face" meeting in his armored car with the Indian prime minister before their official meeting, Russian state media reported.

Mr. Putin spoke of "a special, friendly relationship" with India, while Mr. Modi hailed at the beginning of the meeting "a special and privileged strategic partnership."

The SCO countries, often presented as a counterweight to NATO, represent almost half of the world's population and 23.5% of the planet's GDP.

The organization decided on Monday to include Laos as a partner.

The SCO also said it "strongly condemned the acts causing civilian casualties" in the Gaza Strip as well as the strikes carried out by Israel and the United States in Iran in June, in a statement published by the Xinhua news agency. The SCO called for a "complete and lasting ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid" to Gaza.

Mr. Putin and several other summit participants will attend a large parade in Beijing on Wednesday celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, one of Mr Putin's main allies in the war against Ukraine, left Pyongyang on Monday by special train for China, where he will attend the military parade.

Many of kyiv's allies accuse Beijing of supporting Moscow in the conflict. China claims neutrality and believes that Western countries are prolonging hostilities by arming Ukraine.