QINGDAO, Jun 26 (Alliance News): China convened top defence officials from Iran, Russia, and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Thursday in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, reinforcing its strategic push for a multipolar world order amid rising global instability.
The high-level meeting took place against the backdrop of the recent NATO summit in The Hague, where alliance members pledged to significantly increase defence spending under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
At the same time, the SCO meeting was held as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold between Israel and Iran following 12 days of intense regional conflict.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, addressing the gathering, emphasized the need for stronger cooperation among SCO countries to resist the forces of unilateralism and global disorder.
“As momentous changes of the century accelerate, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise,” Dong said, warning that “hegemonic, domineering, and bullying acts severely undermine the international order.”
He called on SCO members—including Iran, Russia, Pakistan, Belarus, and others—to take “robust actions” to defend the environment for peaceful development and to counter what he described as external interference and instability.
The summit’s location—Qingdao, a city hosting one of China’s major naval bases—underscored the event’s strategic importance, particularly in light of increasing military assertiveness from both NATO and its adversaries.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, who met his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the summit, lauded the growing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
“Friendly relations between our countries maintain upward dynamics of development in all directions,” he said.
The SCO, initially founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and Central Asian states, has grown into a 10-member regional security bloc that includes major players like India, Pakistan, and Iran.
China has long viewed the SCO as a potential counterbalance to Western alliances like NATO, particularly as tensions rise across regions from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.
Despite claims of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Beijing has faced criticism from Western nations over its growing economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow, which many analysts believe have helped Russia withstand global sanctions.
The Qingdao summit is being viewed as part of China’s broader ambition to redefine global power structures and increase the SCO’s role in international diplomacy and security.
