Putin, Xi to attend SCO summit in Bishkek on Monday
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday. More than a dozen other leaders, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are also expected to participate. The summit comes as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urges G20 members to re-examine trade terms with China.
Key Facts
- The SCO claims to represent about 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP.
- Iran joined the SCO in 2023 and maintains close military ties to Russia and energy links with China.
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called China's $1.2 trillion global trade surplus unsustainable on Sunday.
- This year marks 25 years since the SCO was founded.
Summit Participants
The SCO's 10 permanent members and 15 dialogue partners, including Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are connected to the bloc. The leaders of India and Pakistan, both full members of the SCO, are also expected to attend. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to hold bilateral talks with Putin at the summit. The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia met in July during the SCO's Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.
US-China Trade Tensions
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would encourage G20 members to re-examine terms of trade with China. Bessent denounced Beijing's $1.2 trillion global trade surplus as unsustainable in remarks to Reuters on Sunday. He said China's economy is quite weak and that Beijing is trying to export its way out of it. Bessent also said he planned to hold a bilateral meeting with People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng during the G20 conference.
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Putin, Xi to attend SCO summit in Bishkek on Monday
