Jun 26, Kathmandu - China on Thursday invited the defense ministers of Iran and Russia to a meeting in its eastern coastal city of Qingdao, amid the war in the Middle East and a summit of NATO nations in Europe.
Beijing has long sought to portray the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a counterweight to Western-led powers and has been pushing to strengthen cooperation among its member states in politics, security, trade and science.
The Qingdao meeting of the organization’s top defense officials comes amid a 12-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The meeting comes a day after a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in The Hague, where members agreed to increase their defense spending to appease US President Donald Trump.
China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia’s war in Ukraine, although Western governments say its close ties have provided Moscow with significant economic and diplomatic support.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, addressing his counterparts at the meeting, painted a bleak picture of the world witnessing “escalating geopolitical tensions.”
“The current military and political situation in the world is difficult and shows signs of worsening,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
His Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, also described the meeting in Qingdao, China’s main naval base, on Thursday as a meeting to discuss the global balance of power “in the midst of turmoil and change.”