Chinese President Xi Jinping warmly welcomes leaders from Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, and 20 other countries today, Sunday, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit scheduled for tomorrow.

The summit, hosted in the southern city of Tianjin, aims to present a new model of international relations centered on China amid escalating “geo-strategic” tensions and increasing U.S. tariffs.

Since Saturday, heads of state and government from about 20 countries and officials from nearly 10 international organizations have been arriving in the coastal city, a symbol of China’s economic development.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived early Sunday morning discreetly, despite leading a large political and economic delegation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed on Saturday for his first visit to China since 2018, signaling growing rapprochement between the two Asian giants.

President Xi personally received him, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

A large number of bilateral meetings are expected on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

The summit is under tight security and military measures, with armored vehicles deployed on some streets, major traffic disruptions in Tianjin, and banners in Mandarin and Russian praising the “Tianjin Spirit” and “mutual trust” between Moscow and Beijing.

This summit is the most important for the organization since its establishment in 2001. It takes place amid multiple crises directly affecting its members, from the U.S.-China-India trade confrontation to the Russian war on Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear issue.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes 10 member states and 16 observer or partner states, representing nearly half of the world’s population and 23.5% of the global GDP. It positions itself as a balancing power to NATO and includes countries rich in energy resources.

The summit offers China an opportunity to showcase its diplomatic influence and military power, presenting itself as a center of stability in a divided world.

Official Chinese statements praise the multipolar model reflected by this initiative, implicitly criticizing the U.S. unilateral approach.

The event provided a chance for several bilateral meetings, notably between President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday.

Some leaders, including Russian Vladimir Putin and Iranian Masoud Pezeshkian, were invited to extend their stay until Wednesday to attend a massive military parade in Beijing celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and victory over Japan.

On this occasion, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is making a rare visit outside his isolated country to stand alongside his ally Xi Jinping.

Experts urge focusing on the image the summit will project rather than its tangible outcomes, which remain uncertain.

Dylan Loh, a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the summit presents “a China-designed multilateral model different from Western-dominated ones,” noting that “the broad participation reflects China’s growing influence and the SCO’s ability to attract non-Western countries.”

There are disagreements within the organization; China and India, the world’s two most populous countries, compete for influence in South Asia and engaged in a deadly border clash in 2020.

However, they are currently working to strengthen their relations, especially amid tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on both countries.

During their meeting, Xi and Modi emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two nations, which together represent 2.8 billion people, in a partnership the Chinese president called “the dance of the dragon and the elephant.”

The leaders referred to the “steady progress” made since last year in their relations, according to Xi, and the “atmosphere of peace and stability currently prevailing” between the two countries, according to Modi, as stated in the official meeting record.