Chinese President Xi Jinping will welcome more than 20 world leaders to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit next week, in what analysts say is a calculated display of Global South solidarity and an effort to strengthen Beijing’s leadership in a shifting world order.

The summit, set for August 31 to September 1 in the northern port city of Tianjin, will feature the first visit to China in more than seven years by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will remain in Beijing afterward to attend a World War Two military parade.

Analysts say the gathering, the largest since the SCO’s founding in 2001, will be heavy on symbolism. “This summit is about optics, really powerful optics,” said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China-Global South Project. “Xi will want to showcase what a post-American-led order looks like and demonstrate that U.S. efforts to counter China, Iran, Russia, and now India have not had the intended effect.”

The SCO, originally a six-nation security bloc, has grown to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue partners and observers. Its remit has expanded from counter-terrorism to economic and military cooperation, though experts note its practical achievements remain limited.

“What is the precise vision that the SCO represents and its practical implementation are rather fuzzy,” said Manoj Kewalramani of the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore. “It has increasing convening power, but its effectiveness in addressing substantial security issues is very limited.”

Frictions among core members persist. India and Pakistan clashed over the SCO’s failure in June to adopt a joint statement referencing an April militant attack in Kashmir, while New Delhi refused to back the bloc’s condemnation of Israeli strikes on Iran.

Still, the recent easing of India-China tensions, coupled with tariff pressure from Washington, is fueling expectations of a constructive Xi-Modi meeting on the sidelines.

Observers anticipate modest but tangible steps, including troop withdrawals along the disputed Himalayan border, relaxation of trade and visa restrictions, and new cooperation in areas such as climate and cultural exchange.

While substantive breakthroughs are unlikely, the summit’s real value, experts say, lies in its visual impact: presenting China, Russia, India and other Global South nations as a counterweight to Western alliances at a moment of geopolitical flux.