China, Russia, and Iran Take Center Stage at SCO Summit

The 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s annual gathering got underway August 31 in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, with discussions expected to focus on building trade and digital connections and fostering cultural exchanges.The agenda is seen as aimed at broadly countering US global influence, not so surprising given that the summit’s most prominent attendees include China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.Perhaps the most significant discussions will occur on the sidelines of the formal event. Pezeshkian, for example, is expected to have tête-à-têtes aimed at securing Chinese and Russian help in blunting the impact of expanding US sanctions.Putin will be looking to reassure fellow SCO members that Russia remains a potent economic and military power, despite its faltering war effort in Ukraine. In recent months, Kyiv has launched waves of drone attacks that have inflicted extensive damage on Russia’s energy infrastructure and its military-industrial complex. Meanwhile, the Russian army appears stalled on the front while incurring a grievous number of casualties. The official summit agenda closely mimics Xi’s geopolitical priorities. Before the summit’s start, the Chinese leader met with Kyrgyz officials, holding up Beijing’s bilateral relationship with the summit’s host nation, Kyrgyzstan, as a “golden model of… mutually beneficial cooperation,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.The gathering in Bishkek will bring together the leaders of some countries currently experiencing bilateral tension, such as China and India, Russia and Armenia, and India and Pakistan. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi were expected to appear together at the summit’s opening ceremony, Indian media outlets reported that the two were unlikely to hold a face-to-face meeting. Putin, meanwhile, is expected to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is attending as an observer, to discuss their differences over Yerevan’s efforts to seek European Union membership. Pakistan is set to host the next annual SCO heads-of-state gathering in 2027. Indian officials have stated they are “non-committal” about their participation in a Pakistani-hosted summit.In advance of the summit, Modi stopped in Uzbekistan, where he signed several agreements, including an MoU on mineral resources and mining. Under the memorandum, the two sides will look to finalize a long-term deal for Uzbekistan to export uranium to India. Earlier in 2026, India struck a $4 billion deal for uranium with Kazakhstan. By EurasianetMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comOil Prices Climb as Trump Threatens New Strikes on IranChevron, ONGC and GE Vernova Near Final Venezuela Energy DealsVenezuela Helped Build OPEC. Now It May Help Break It Apart