Xi Seeks Stronger AI Cooperation and Regional Stability at SCO Summit

Tianjin, September 1, 2025 – Chinese President Xi Jinping is taking advantage of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to request closer cooperation in artificial intelligence and more effort to maintain stability in the region. Another theme at the summit is the efforts of Beijing to reinforce alliances in Asia and beyond.

Xi will meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. Putin will stay in China to participate in a military parade in Beijing to celebrate 80 years since the termination of World War II.

Xi held at least 10 meetings with visiting leaders in the days before the summit, among them the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet. Such gatherings, according to observers, are an indication that China is trying to establish better relationships with as many partners as possible, based on mutual respect, common interests, and long-term collaboration.

China as Peacemaker?

 It is not clear whether the SCO meeting will make significant breakthroughs, but analysts think that the increased involvement of Beijing in regional affairs may help it gain a lot of influence in the international arena.

The enhancement of diplomatic and economic relationships with the major partners is not a trifle. It provides nations in the region with access to essential intellectual property and resources that they require to industrialize and increase production, said Marko Papic, chief strategist at GeoMacro Strategy BCA Access. In the long run, the U.S. is losing the narrative battle to make China the disruptor. That just strengthens the tendency toward multipolarity.

Henry Huiyao Wang, the founder and president of the Center of China and Globalization, observed that China has, in the recent past, not only led in the promotion of economic cooperation but also in establishing itself as a peace broker. He proposed that Beijing might use its good relations with Moscow to help it achieve a breakthrough on the war in Ukraine, and that the SCO or its constituent states might become guarantors of future security arrangements.

Looking Ahead

 Later on Monday, the SCO summit is likely to end with a common statement. The Chinese senior diplomat Wang Yi will have a press conference in the evening local time to summarize the main results.

Observers indicate that, in addition to security concerns, the summit will provide Beijing with a chance to enhance its cooperation with a broader group of countries, which will further strengthen its position as a key player in defining the future of global multipolarity.