Chinese president and his wife welcome Pakistan’s PM, other guests in Tianjin which he says serves as a pioneering zone for China’s opening-up
China’s President Xi Jinping has said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is certain to play an even bigger role and achieve more progress, making greater contribution to boosting the unity and cooperation among member states, pooling the strength of the Global South and pushing for more progress of human civilization.
Addressing the banquet to welcome foreign guests who are in China’s Tianjin national city to attend the SCO Summit 2025, he pointed out greater responsibilities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for safeguarding regional peace and stability, and for boosting development of various countries in a world of increasing uncertainties and accelerated changes. Before the banquet, the Chinese president and his wife Peng Liyuan welcomed the guests when they arrived.
Xi says SCO will set sail once again from Tianjin towards brighter future under Shanghai Spirit
Founded in Shanghai in June 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has expanded from six founding members into a 26-nation family of 10 members, two observers and 14 dialogue partners spanning Asia, Europe and Africa. With major emerging markets and developing countries among its members, the organization represents nearly half of the world’s population and a quarter of the global economy. As per officials, the summit in Tianjin is the largest-ever annual meeting of the group.
It is President Xi’s second time to host the event, with the participation of leaders from more than 20 countries and 10 foreign organizations. Prior to the summit, the Chinese president held more than a dozen bilateral meetings with the visiting leaders. He told his guests at the banquet that as an open and inclusive city, Tianjin serves as a pioneering zone for China’s reform and opening-up. He said SCO has become an important force in building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity.
The summit includes the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the organization as well as the SCO Plus meeting. President Xi said that the participants at the meetings would discuss plans for cooperation and development, and work to improve global governance. He expressed the hope that the SCO will, under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit, set sail once again from Tianjin towards an even brighter future. After the banquet, President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan joined the guests in watching an art performance.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the reception where President Xi welcomed the Pakistani leader and others. On the occasion, the prime minister held informal meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Shehbaz Sharif was the center of attention of the world leaders who showed exceptional warmth to him. The closeness seen in these meetings is reflection of the brotherly and friendly relations between Pakistan and these countries. It is worth mentioning that the prime minister completely avoided any formal or informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was also there to attend the banquet. Shehbaz Sharif and President Erdogan expressed satisfaction over the growing momentum in the bilateral relations.
The two leaders noted with appreciation the steady increase in high-level exchanges and cooperation across a broad spectrum, including political, economic, defense, and security domains. The Turkish president offered sincere condolences over the loss of precious lives and property as a result of the ongoing floods across various parts of Pakistan. He expressed his country’s solidarity with the people of Pakistan and said that the government and people of Turkiye stood shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in this hour of need.
The two sides exchanged views on key regional and international developments. They expressed grave concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and reaffirmed their shared commitment to using international platforms to advocate for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and to condemn the ongoing Israeli aggression and genocidal policies. The meeting reaffirmed the deep-rooted brotherly ties between Pakistan and Turkiye and underscored their shared resolve to further strengthen cooperation for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Muslim world and beyond.
President Xi told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that China and India were each other’s development opportunities rather than threats. As long as the two countries keep to this overarching direction, he said that the specific matters in the bilateral relations would fall into place and there would be steady and sustained progress in bilateral ties. He said that they should become good-neighborly friends and partners that help each other succeed. A “cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant” should be the right choice for the two countries, he said.
President Xi called on the two countries to strengthen strategic communication and deepen mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation to achieve mutual benefit, accommodate each other’s concerns and get along in peace and harmony, and strengthen multilateral coordination to safeguard shared interests. He said that the two neighbors should combine their strength to maintain peace and tranquility in their border regions, and should not allow the boundary question to define the overall China-India relations.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said that India was ready to view and develop bilateral ties from a long-term perspective. Given the great uncertainties in the world economy, he said that it was vital for India and China to strengthen cooperation as important economies of the world. He said that India was prepared to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question with China. Both India and China pursue strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy, he said, adding that their bilateral relationship was not subject to the influence of any third party.
