The leaders of China and Russia on Thursday urged their allies to resist malign external influence, advancing their shared anti-Western agenda at a regional summit in Central Asia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping were in Kazakhstan for a gathering of leaders from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional bloc that Moscow and Beijing see as a counterweight to US “hegemony” on the world stage.

Xi called on the countries to “resist external interference” while Putin claimed “new centres” of political and economic might were on the rise.

In a joint declaration, published by the Kremlin, the group noted “tectonic shifts in global politics” and called for the bloc to play an enhanced role in global and regional security.

Both Russia and China regularly rail against what they say is the US dominance of global affairs and are seeking to boost their influence and control, particularly in regions close to their borders.

“The multipolar world has become a reality,” Putin remarked at the summit.

He also hailed the accession of Belarus to the bloc, becoming its tenth member.

Iran joined as a full member last year.

Competition

The SCO was founded in 2001 but has come to prominence in recent years. Alongside China, Russia and Belarus, its full members are: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

It is intended to be a platform for cooperation in competition with the West, with a focus on security and economics in Central Asia in particular, and claims to represent 40 percent of the global population and about 30 percent of its GDP.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further increased major powers’ interest in Central Asia, where Moscow is seeking to maintain its traditional sway but where China now has strong ties through its flagship Belt and Road project.

At the summit on Thursday, the SCO’s common anti-Western agenda was on clear display.

In the final declaration, the bloc criticised the “unilateral and unrestricted build-up” of missile defence systems by unnamed countries.

They also called for an “early, complete and sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza with a “comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian question.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday announced it would host the next summit of leaders in October.

Modi did not attend this summit, but is expected in Moscow in the coming days, his first visit to the country since Russia invaded Ukraine.

With AFP