Beyond Old Faultlines

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first meeting on Chinese soil in seven years during the last SCO Summit, held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025. The smiling photograph of the three leaders - Modi, Xi and Putin of the Eurasian region, which epitomises the epicentre of the ancient civilisations and the ‘old world’, has sent a strong signal to the ‘ new world’ led by the USA. Unlike the Cold War of the last century, which was fought between two blocs representing two different political philosophies, the Cold War of the 21st century will most likely be fought between countries belonging to the ancient and new civilisations. Although political differences (even rivalry) among a few members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) exist, all the members of the group, namely, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, share strong cultural and trade relations for centuries.

The SCO Tianjin Summit 2025 was the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was held from August 31 to September 1, 2025, in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China. It was the largest summit in SCO’s history, and was the fifth time that China hosted the meeting. The two-day event, attended by more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries, showcased Beijing’s ambition for a new global security and economic order that challenges U.S hegemony. In his opening speech at the SCO Summit, the Chinese President has proposed a ‘Global Governance Initiative (GGI) for working with all countries for a more just and equitable global governance system and advancing toward a community with a shared future for humanity.

The Tianjin declaration reaffirmed the bloc’s “firm commitment to fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism” and “strongly condemned” terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the April 22 Pahalgam attack, and the attacks on Jaffer Express and Khuzdar in Pakistan. The leaders of the SCO expressed “deep concern” over the continued escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and “strongly condemned the actions that have led to numerous casualties among the civilian population.” The SCO member states “stressed the need to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and increase efforts to ensure peace, stability, and security for residents in the region.”

India also joined the fellow members of the grouping to strongly condemn the military strikes by Israel and the U.S. against Iran, a member state, in June that targeted Tehran’s nuclear facilities. The member states reaffirmed the importance of the UN Security Council resolution 2231, taken in 2015, which included provisions for lifting sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme. The declaration also welcomed a resolution by the annual UN General Assembly that called for “combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to escalating contemporary forms of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance”.

Though all the member states of SCO, except India, reaffirmed their support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Indian Prime Minister subtly criticised China’s BRI, saying connectivity projects must respect sovereignty or risk losing trust and credibility, this SCO Summit has reinforced the relations among the three emerging global powers -China, India and Russia. In what way India redesigns its future policies towards Israel, Taiwan, and the USA will be watched carefully. Nonetheless, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, a day after Donald Trump said the Delhi-Washington ties were ‘a totally one-sided relationship’, that ‘India is in dialogue with the US for a bilateral trade agreement’. He expressed hope that India will conclude the proposed bilateral trade agreement with the US by the fall or November this year. Indian’s active participation in the China-led SCO Summit has definitely improved the bargaining power of the Indian negotiators.

India’s relation with Bangladesh, which is under severe strain after its deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was provided shelter in India, may take a dramatic turn. It may be recalled that Sheikh Hasina maintained very cordial relations, during her long tenure as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, with India, China, and Russia. Bangladesh is a member of BRI, and the Chinese government made huge investments in various infrastructure projects during its regime. The same is true for India. A few weeks before her ouster, Sheikh Hasina paid official visits to India and China and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

With Russia, Bangladesh developed a crucial relationship when, in January 2013, Sheikh Hasina, on a four-day visit to Moscow, which included a meeting at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bangladesh and Russia signed a billion-dollar arms deal tied to an offset agreement involving nuclear power investment. To finance the arms deal, Russia agreed to loan the full $1 billion and also, as part of an offset agreement, cover nearly all construction costs for the nuclear energy project. This arrangement paved the way for the construction phase of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. In the first week of October 2023, Bangladesh received the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant, making it the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear power.

After Hasina’s removal on August 5, 2024, the country’s ambitious nuclear energy plan is facing a crisis. The current leaders and officials in Bangladesh appear to have brought the nuclear energy project under scrutiny. Bangladesh is expected to hold a general election in December 2025, and the caretaker government headed by the Chief Advisor Dr Yunus has decided to ban Awami League, the party headed by Sheikh Hasina, from contesting the election. But post-SCO 25th – the new geo-strategic alliance among India, China, and Russia, who have very high stakes in Bangladesh, may change the political equation of the country to Hasina’s favour.

Views expressed are personal