China is gearing up for an intense week of diplomacy as it finalises preparations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin this month, followed by a grand military parade in Beijing to commemorate the end of World War II.
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All eyes will be on how China asserts its diplomatic clout and positions itself as a world power to be reckoned with at a time when global geopolitical tensions are on the rise.
On Friday, China’s foreign ministry officially announced a list of more than 20 world leaders and 10 heads of international organisations who would soon travel to the northern city of Tianjin for the summit, scheduled to run from August 31 to September 1.
Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin said the summit would be the “largest in SCO history”, describing it as “one of the most important activities for China’s head-of-state diplomacy and home-ground diplomacy this year”.
China is expecting a top-tier crowd of political heavyweights. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the attendees confirmed by Liu. Key leaders from Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, will also attend, confirming an earlier exclusive report by the Post.
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It will be Putin’s first visit to China since he held talks on the Ukraine war with US President Donald Trump in Alaska earlier this month. And it will be Modi’s first trip to China in seven years.