Tianjin, China - Leaders from across Eurasia gathering in China to discuss defense and security at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin.

Representatives from more than 20 countries including Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran jetted in for the weekend event.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders from the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Russia President Vladimir Putin's staunch allies.

He also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made his first trip to China in seven years as the two nations look to deepen ties and establish new trade opportunities in the wake of President Donald Trump's tariff regime.

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"We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities," Modi told Xi, according to a clip posted on X.

The meeting comes as India faces 50% levies from the Trump administration in retaliation against New Delhi's purchasing of Russia oil, as SCO countries attempt to resist pressure from the US.

China and Russia have sometimes touted the SCO as an alternative to the NATO military alliance. This year's summit is the first since Trump returned to the White House.

In an interview published by Xinhua on Saturday, Putin said the summit will "strengthen the SCO's capacity to respond to contemporary challenges and threats, and consolidate solidarity across the shared Eurasian space."

"We reaffirmed the strategic choice of our peoples in favor of strengthening the traditions of good-neighborliness, friendship, and long-term, mutually beneficial cooperation," Putin said.

"Drawing on these values, the SCO contributes to shaping a fairer, multipolar world order, grounded in international law, with the central coordinating role of the United Nations,"