Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on Monday for a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional grouping that has grown into one of the most prominent forums for nations seeking to reduce Western dominance in global affairs. Around a dozen heads of state gathered to mark the bloc's 25th anniversary, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The SCO was founded as an organisation focused primarily on economic and security cooperation in Central Asia, but has expanded significantly in recent years under the stewardship of Moscow and Beijing. It now counts ten full members — including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and four Central Asian states, as well as Moscow-allied Belarus — along with 15 dialogue partners such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and two observer countries, Afghanistan and Mongolia. The bloc claims to represent roughly 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP, though analysts note that significant internal divisions persist among members.

Putin and Xi are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines, along with separate meetings involving other leaders. Putin's meeting with Pezeshkian carries particular weight, coming just days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a rare visit to Moscow, which US media speculated may have touched on both the Ukraine war and tensions with Iran. Russia and Iran, two of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, have deepened their military and economic cooperation substantially since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began four and a half years ago. The summit also takes place roughly six months into the conflict between the United States and Iran, and amid escalating US tariff pressure on Chinese and Indian goods.

The geopolitical backdrop sharpens the stakes of the gathering. Washington recently imposed secondary sanctions targeting Iran's trading partners across sectors including gold, technology, and aviation, prompting Beijing to vow it would "firmly defend" its interests as a major importer of Iranian oil. US President Donald Trump has also warned Russia and China against arming Iran. For Tehran, SCO membership — which it joined only in 2023 — is partly a vehicle for bypassing Western economic pressure, though international relations expert Mohammad Hassan Najmi cautioned that "in times of crisis, these alliances have rarely allowed Iran to resolve its difficulties."

Why this matters: the Bishkek summit illustrates the growing effort by major non-Western powers to coordinate outside US-led institutions, even as the SCO's founding declaration insists it is "not an alliance directed against other states." Putin and Xi have used previous summits to promote a vision of a multipolar world, and this year's gathering — convened amid active wars, trade conflicts, and escalating sanctions — gives that rhetoric renewed urgency. Whether the bloc can translate its collective weight into concrete solidarity for its most pressured members remains an open question.