China showcased its expanding strategic vision on Thursday by hosting a high-level meeting of defence ministers from member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), with Russia and Iran in prominent attendance. The summit, held at the naval hub of Qingdao, comes amid shifting global alliances and a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Beijing used the platform to underline its ambitions of elevating the SCO into a formidable bloc capable of counterbalancing Western influence in areas such as defence cooperation, regional security, technological development, and trade.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, opening the session, warned of a world “in chaos and instability” and blamed “hegemonic bullying acts” for undermining international borders. His remarks, although general, were widely seen as a veiled rebuke of the United States and Israel following the latter’s conflict with Iran.
“The dominating and hegemonic bullying acts severely undermine the international border,” Dong said, referring to recent escalations in the Middle East and the broader geopolitical landscape. He added that Iran, in contrast, had cooperated with international institutions such as the IAEA regarding its nuclear programme.
Among the senior leaders present were defence ministers from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and India. The presence of Iranian and Russian officials gave the summit a pointed tone in the backdrop of strained East-West relations and fresh NATO commitments to boost defence spending.
The SCO summit comes days after NATO leaders convened in The Hague and pledged to raise defence budgets to five per cent of GDP, citing threats from both Moscow and Tehran.
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India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who also addressed the SCO gathering, advocated unity among members to meet “today's challenges” while stressing mutual development. “SCO members should collectively aspire to fulfil the aspirations and expectations of our people,” he said.
Singh’s office later shared a message on social media, stating: “The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum.”
The Qingdao summit also brought into focus the lingering tensions between India and China, particularly over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Beijing’s objections to the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by New Delhi in 2019. While these issues remain unresolved, the two sides continue to engage through multilateral platforms like the SCO.
China, for its part, maintained its diplomatic balancing act. It has refrained from overtly backing either side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and prefers to present itself as a neutral power focused on cooperation and development rather than assertion.
Despite long-standing border disputes and friction with neighbours, China reiterated its belief that global leadership should rest on “mutual respect and shared progress” rather than unilateralism.
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