Xi Jinping will be hosting the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the northern port city of Tianjin, China, on August 31 and September 1, for 20 or more of his country’s closest friends and allies.

The list of attendees does not include Donald Trump, but does extend to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Together with Xi, that’s three of the five founding members of BRICS.

Also expected are leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. [Laurie Chen, Reuters, August 26, 2025.]

According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, this year’s summit will be the largest since the SCO’s founding in 2001. He called the organization an “important force in building a new type of international relations.” [Id.]

The meeting coincides with China’s scheduled Victory Day celebration on August 3rd, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender ending World War II. That day will be marked by a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, undoubtedly of spectacular proportions, to showcase China’s latest weaponry, including aircraft, tanks, and anti-drone systems. [Laura Bicker and Jean Mackenzie, BBC News, August 28, 2025.]

Some 26 heads of state are expected to attend the spectacle . . . notably including, for his first-ever multilateral international meeting, North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un. [Id.]

What a diplomatic coup for Xi, being able to pull together Putin, Kim, and Modi — still smarting from Trump’s increased tariffs on Indian imports — in one fell swoop.

With Putin and Xi hell-bent on creating a “New World Order,” next week’s gathering in China is beginning to look like an opportunistic meeting of their Executive Committee.

*. *. *

As badly screwed-up as the existing world order is at the moment, you might be thinking we’re ready for a new one. And you may be right . . . but I’d rather it didn’t look so much like someone’s dystopian nightmare.

Wouldn’t you?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/29/25