Xi promotes AI collaboration at SCO, slams “Cold War” mindset

Speaking Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to advance partnerships in artificial intelligence and pushed back against what he termed a “Cold War mentality.” Although he did not mention the United States by name, Xi denounced “hegemonism,” “Cold War mentality,” and “bullying” as rhetoric he often deploys as a shorthand for American and allied influence in global affairs.

He delivered his comments at the SCO’s largest-ever gathering that brought together over 20 foreign heads of state in Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

China’s Xi pledged about $280 million in grants to the SCO nations

During the summit, the Chinese leader sought to present China as an anchor of economic stability, announcing hundreds of millions of dollars in pledges for the bloc’s member states. 

Xi promised the SCO countries 2 billion yuan, roughly about $280 million, in grants this year and pledged another 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in loans through a regional banking consortium. He also pushed for the bloc to move quickly on creating a Development Bank. He declared, “We should leverage the strength of our mega-sized markets and economic complementarity between member states and improve trade and investment facilitation.” 

The Chinese leader also announced that 10,000 students would benefit from their “Luban” program and described the SCO meeting as a platform to drive the next phase of high-quality cooperation.

He also cast Beijing as the defender of a more balanced order, pushing for a more “equal and orderly multipolar world” underpinned by fairer global governance. Echoing him, Putin said the SCO should work toward a “new system” of security in Eurasia, one that would replace what he called outdated Western-led models with arrangements reflecting the interests of a broader set of nations.

After Xi’s remarks, Marko Papic, chief strategist for GeoMacro Strategy BCA Access, now believes China could improve its relationships across many countries through the summit.

Wang says China could take on the lead role in advocating for global peace

Henry Huiyao Wang, founder of the Beijing think tank Center for China and Globalization, said China had shown “initiative” in advancing both economic cooperation and peace. He cited efforts by China and India to restore ties and urged similar progress between India and Pakistan.

On CNBC’s The China Connection, Wang said Trump was trying to make peace, but added that China, too, could try to play that role. He suggested Beijing’s close relationship with Moscow could enable it to play a role in addressing the conflict with Ukraine and pointed out that the SCO, or its most advanced members like China and India, could act as security guarantors.

Just last week, Moscow launched its second-largest aerial assault on Ukraine. On Monday, Putin used his address at the SCO summit to repeat his narrative of the conflict, insisting it was not the result of Russian aggression but of a Western-backed coup in Kyiv. Putin commended Beijing and New Delhi for their attempts at mediation and characterized his “understanding” with Trump in Alaska as a step toward peace in Ukraine.

So far, China and Russia have maintained friendly relations. Chinese companies have acquired significant quantities of discounted Russian oil and sustained flows of crucial goods, some of them dual-use. However, Western governments claim that China’s involvement with Russia funds the country’s military production. Nonetheless, Beijing has dismissed the criticism, calling the exchanges “normal trade.” 

Trump, however, responded in the summer with threats of new tariffs on Chinese exports if the purchases continued.

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