Xi Reaffirms UN Support Ahead of SCO Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Beijing will remain a steadfast supporter of the UN’s central role in global affairs, vowing commitment to what he called “true multilateralism.”
Xi delivered the remarks on Saturday in Tianjin, where Guterres arrived to attend the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. “China will always be a reliable partner of the United Nations,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Guterres, in turn, described China’s backing as “an extremely important element to preserve.”
The 25th SCO summit, along with a parallel “SCO Plus” meeting, opens Sunday in northern China. The gathering is set to highlight solidarity among the Global South while navigating an international climate clouded by conflicts and trade wars—from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Israel’s war in Gaza and renewed tensions in Asia.
As chair, Xi will preside over the two-day event, the fifth time China has hosted an SCO summit. Leaders from more than 20 nations and representatives of 10 international organizations are expected, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, India’s Narendra Modi, Iran’s Masood Pezeshkian, and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif.
The agenda emphasizes strengthening the “Shanghai Spirit” of cooperation in security, economics, and culture. Delegates are expected to adopt the Tianjin Declaration, outline a decade-long strategy, and issue statements marking both the UN’s 80th anniversary and the victory in World War II over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Founded in 2001, the SCO has grown into a 10-member political and security bloc stretching from East Asia to Eastern Europe, with China and Russia at its core.
Following the summit, Xi is also set to host Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a military parade on September 3 commemorating the 80th anniversary of the war’s end in Asia.
