• PM meets whole host of world leaders, including Putin and Erdogan
• No interaction with Modi as Indian PM visits China for first time in eight years

ISLAMABAD: As world leaders gathered in Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, PM Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that all endeavours and initiatives of his government were closely aligned with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision and philosophy, which are anchored in the progress and prosperity of China.

PM Shehbaz spent a busy day, holding bilateral meetings and attending events on the side lines of the two-day Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit.

The prime minister is leading a delegation from Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit. The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Another 16 countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Leaders from Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Myanmar and others, as well as the chief of the United Nations and heads of various regional and international organisations, are also attending as part of the expanded format.

Indian PM Narendra Modi, who was in China for his first visit since 2018, also met the Chinese premier, expressing a commitment to improve ties with Beijing in the backdrop of stringent US tariffs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also touched down in Tianjin on Sunday along with an entourage of senior politicians and business representatives.

At a banquet held to welcome international guests, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday that the SCO shouldered a great responsibility towards safeguarding regional peace and stability, and for boosting development of various countries in a world of increasing uncertainties and accelerated changes.

According to China Daily, he expressed confidence that with concerted efforts of all parties, the summit will be a complete success, and that the SCO is certain to play an even bigger role and achieve more progress, making greater contribution to boosting the unity and cooperation among member states, pooling the strength of the Global South and pushing for more progress of human civilisation.

PM’s schedule

Apart from President Xi, PM Shehbaz also met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

He also attended the reception for world leaders, where he was welcomed by President Xi and First Lady Peng Liyuan.

However, there was no bilateral meeting with Indian PM Modi, who was also present at the reception.

Earlier, addressing students and faculty members of Tianjin University, PM Shehbaz lauded President Xi’s visionary leadership, saying that it had conveyed to the entire globe that long-lasting friendship could be achieved through multilateralism and not through unilateralism, while shared progress and prosperity could be conceived through joint teams’ work and not through exclusive rights.

The prime minister lauded the Chinese leadership and its people for transforming the country into the second-largest economy and military powerhouse in the world through hard work, sincerity and untiring efforts.

PM Shehbaz asserted that the incumbent government in Pakistan was also committed to eradicating corruption and poverty, and went on to claim that “not a single corruption case had emerged” during the current government’s tenure.

“We have a shared destiny with China and should learn from the knowledge imparted by the Chinese universities to bring economic [and] agricultural prosperity to the people of Pakistan,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025