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When Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the UN Climate Summit via video on September 24, it was a carefully calibrated intervention in a climate regime under strain--where global ambition lags, multilateral trust is fraying, and the North-South divide is once again becoming a fault line. Image Via: Mao Ning Marking ten years since the Paris Agreement, Xi’s speech   struck familiar chords of solidarity and green optimism, but embedded within it were clear strategic signals: China wants to be seen as the steward of global climate leadership , even as it subtly shifts the burden back onto the developed world. Ambitious Yet Calculated Targets Xi’s new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aim to: Cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 7–10% from peak levels by 2035. Raise non-fossil fuel energy share to over 30%. Expand wind and solar capacity to 3,600 gigawatts — six times the 2020 baseline. Scale up forest stock volume to over 24 billion cubic meters. Mak...

U.S. Secretary of State-designate and senior senator Marco Rubio has called out China’s plan to establish a "national nature reserve" at Scarborough Shoal, warning that it represents a coercive and destabilizing attempt to rewrite maritime realities in the South China Sea.  Rubio Slams China’s Scarborough Shoal Plan. Via: Open Source Intel His comments mark the strongest U.S. congressional signal yet in support of the Philippines amid renewed tensions at the reef. “The U.S. stands with our Philippine ally in rejecting China’s destabilizing plans,” Rubio posted, framing Beijing’s move as part of a broader campaign to “erase everything Russian” in other theatres, and now expand coercion in Asia.  He called the reserve a pretext to advance China’s territorial ambitions “at the expense of its neighbors and regional stability.” Scarborough Shoal, located just 120 nautical miles from Luzon island, is a traditional fishing ground and lies well within the Philippines’ Exclusive Ec...

In an extraordinary virtual meeting held on September 8, 2025, BRICS leaders convened under Brazil’s presidency to articulate a unified position against what they described as growing geopolitical instability, unilateral trade barriers, and systemic failures in global governance.  Image Source: Ayushi Pandey on X Initiated by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the closed-door summit was attended by heads of state and senior officials from Brazil, China, Russia, India, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. At the core of the summit’s agenda was the need to overhaul multilateral institutions, beginning with the United Nations and its Security Council, which BRICS leaders collectively agreed no longer reflected the realities or interests of the wider international community, particularly the Global South.  The timing of the meeting--just weeks before the UN General Assembly, COP-30, and the G20 Leaders’ Summit --was viewed as a...

Chinese President Xi Jinping used the BRICS virtual summit on Friday to deliver a forceful message calling for the reform of global governance structures, including the United Nations and its Security Council, while sharply criticizing unilateralism and trade protectionism as threats to global peace and development. Image Source: Mao Ning Xi’s address came amid escalating global tensions, supply chain disruptions, and increasing concern among developing countries over their marginalization in international decision-making.  He identified the BRICS grouping--comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa--as uniquely positioned to lead the charge for a more just and equitable world order. Call for Reformed Multilateralism Xi underscored the growing urgency for systemic reform in global governance, pointing to “hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism” as destabilizing forces.  Without naming any country directly, his remarks clearly referenced the rising wave o...

UK's new Business Secretary Peter Kyle will travel to China this week in a renewed push by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to stabilise and expand trade ties with Beijing.  The visit marks the latest in a series of high-level engagements aimed at boosting economic cooperation amid Britain's stagnant growth outlook. Image Source: biztradegovuk Kyle, who was appointed in last week’s cabinet reshuffle, is expected to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday, stepping into the role previously held by Jonathan Reynolds, now serving as chief whip.  The trip will include participation in the long-delayed UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) -- the first such summit in seven years. JETCO meetings, once a regular fixture in bilateral relations, were suspended in 2019 after the UK halted official trade dialogue in response to China’s clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The Covid-19 pandemic further stalled diplomatic contact. The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP @P...

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that a multipolar world order “has taken shape” and warned that any Western move to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets would amount to “economic suicide,” in wide-ranging remarks to the press at the conclusion of his four-day official visit to China. Image Source: Fox News on X Speaking after meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders in Tianjin and Beijing, Putin positioned Russia, China, and India as the key poles of a post-Western international system.  “Multipolarity does not mean new hegemons,” he said. “It means equality in global governance.” Putin dismissed the notion that multipolarity remains aspirational. “Its contours have already formed,” he stated, pointing to platforms like BRICS and the SCO as realigning forces. He emphasized that sovereignty and equality--not bloc politics--should define international cooperation. Also Read:  India, Russia, and China Signal New ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping used the occasion of the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II to deliver a speech that blended historical remembrance with assertive messages about modern geopolitics, Chinese identity, and future global leadership. Image Source: Mao Ning Addressing foreign dignitaries, military personnel, and party officials at a formal reception following a large-scale military parade in Beijing, Xi described the war’s outcome as a “historic turning point” that helped lift China out of crisis and launch its long path toward “national rejuvenation.”  He noted that the Chinese people fought the 14-year war “bitterly and heroically” and credited the contributions of Allied forces and international support — without naming specific countries. The speech emphasized the value of multilateral cooperation and global peace but also carried pointed references to sovereignty, national strength, and vigilance against external aggression.  Xi warne...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a sharply worded message during China’s military parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.  In the statement, Trump questioned whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would acknowledge the American bloodshed and military support provided to China during the war, while also referencing Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Image Source: Mike Vallerio Trump wrote, “The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that the United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader.”  He went on to express hope that American soldiers who died fighting alongside Chinese forces would be “rightfully honored and remembered,” and ended with a pointed line: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire agains...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Beijing on Tuesday in a summit that combined hard economics with historical symbolism. They inked more than 20 cooperation agreements across energy, space, artificial intelligence, agriculture and media, while presenting the China–Russia partnership as both the product of history and a cornerstone of a multipolar future. Image Source: MFA China The talks at the Great Hall of the People came a day after both leaders attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, where they were photographed alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and on the eve of the 80th anniversary commemorations of Japan’s surrender in World War II.  Both leaders used the anniversary to frame their countries not only as wartime victors, but as present-day custodians of international order, with Xi calling the bilateral relationship a “prime example of major-country relations” and Putin describing it as “highl...

Chinese President Xi Jinping , Russian President Vladimir Putin , and Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh met at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday for the seventh trilateral summit of their nations, vowing to expand political trust, boost connectivity projects, and tighten coordination within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) . Image Source: MaoNing Xi said the three neighbors, linked “by mountains and rivers and sharing weal and woe,” had seen their cooperation deepen in trade, science, and ecological conservation, and pledged to push forward the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor despite what he described as “external interference.”  He proposed a three-point roadmap: cementing political solidarity, accelerating infrastructure and energy projects, and closer alignment on multilateral platforms like the SCO. Putin echoed Xi’s emphasis on strategic alignment, stressing that Moscow saw trilateral cooperation as complementary to its bilateral tie...

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pressed Pakistan to step up security for Chinese nationals and projects in the country, warning that the safety of personnel and institutions was essential to sustaining bilateral cooperation. Image Source: Pak PM Meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit , Xi said Beijing backed Islamabad’s counterterrorism efforts but expected “solid and effective measures” to prevent further attacks.  The appeal comes after a series of assaults on Chinese workers linked to Belt and Road projects, including the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The two leaders announced plans to launch CPEC 2.0 and upgrade the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, expanding collaboration into industry, agriculture, and mining.  Xi described the bilateral relationship as an “ironclad friendship” that had endured decades of regional turbulence, and urged...

At a time when the world marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the debate over the future of global governance has reached a decisive moment.  What began as an institution designed to prevent another world war and promote collective security is now confronted by widening fractures in legitimacy, authority, and effectiveness. Image Source: China_Amb_India Against this backdrop, China has unveiled its Global Governance Initiative (GGI) , a concept paper that seeks to place reform of international institutions at the heart of the 21st century multipolar order. From Post-War Order to Multipolar Realities The United Nations was conceived in an era dominated by the victors of the Second World War.  The Security Council’s permanent membership and veto structure reflected the geopolitical realities of 1945.  Eight decades later, with the rise of emerging economies and the collective weight of the Global South, the imbalance in represent...

Iran, Russia, and China have formally submitted a joint letter to the United Nations rejecting European attempts to reinstate sanctions on Tehran under the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal as “illegal” and “politically destructive.” Image Source: TRPresidency The letter, signed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, was addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the UN Security Council.  The three countries argued that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (E3) had no legal standing to trigger the mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The ministers stated that “any step or action taken in disregard or contravention of UNSCR 2231 cannot result in lawful international obligations,” calling the E3 move procedurally flawed and contrary to international law.  They added tha...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Tianjin on August 31 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, in what was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years. The bilateral carries weight amid global turbulence triggered by U.S. tariff escalations and India’s deepening partnership with Russia. Both leaders described their meeting as a continuation of last year’s Kazan talks, which they said had put the relationship back on a “positive trajectory.”  Image Source: Namita Balyan According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi and Xi reaffirmed that India and China are “development partners, not rivals,” and stressed that their differences “should not turn into disputes.” Border peace front and center The Indian readout emphasized that Modi underlined the importance of peace and tranquility along the border for the smooth development of bilateral ties. The leaders noted the disengagement process compl...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin has reinforced what many analysts are calling the most significant diplomatic recalibration of the decade: the visible consolidation of India, Russia, and China as a counterweight to U.S. economic coercion and global dominance. Image Source: PMOIndia The meeting came a day after Modi’s discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both leaders welcomed “positive momentum” in bilateral ties, reaffirmed border stability, and committed to cooperation based on “mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity.”  Together, the optics of Modi–Xi and Modi–Putin back-to-back meetings signalled India’s active role in shaping what Russian diplomats describe as a “qualitatively new system of international relations.” Putin–Modi Bilateral: Special and Privileged Partnership Holds At their Tianjin meeting, Modi and Putin ...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping used the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) plenary session in Tianjin on Monday to set out contrasting but converging priorities -- from counterterrorism and connectivity to Ukraine diplomacy and resistance against Western “bullying.” Image Source: PM NaMo Addressing the summit, Russian President Putin said his discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska last month had “opened the way to peace in Ukraine,” but warned that any durable settlement required addressing the “root causes” of the crisis.  He reiterated Moscow’s position that the conflict did not begin with an “invasion,” but with a “coup d’état in Kyiv supported by Ukraine’s Western allies,” and that attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO had directly contributed to the escalation. “UN principles, including respect for the sovereignty of states, are still valid and unshakable today,” Putin said, adding...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared warm moments and substantive exchanges in Tianjin on Monday, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit plenary session. Image Source: PM NaMo Before the session began, Prime Minister Modi posted photographs of his interactions with Putin and Xi, writing on X: “Interactions in Tianjin continue! Exchanging perspectives with President Putin and President Xi during the SCO Summit.”   The images captured Modi and Putin greeting each other with smiles and a warm hug, a gesture that underlined the resilience of the long-standing India–Russia partnership. According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Modi will address the SCO plenary outlining India’s approach to fostering regional cooperation before holding a bilateral meeting with President Putin later today.  Modi’s bilateral with Xi Jinping took place on Sunday, where both leaders reaffirmed their commit...