Pakistan and India join regional security bloc

– The leaders of China and Russia yesterday praised the expansion of their regional security bloc at a summit which put on a show of unity.

President Xi Jinping gave the leaders of Pakistan and India a “special welcome” to their first summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) since their countries joined the group last year.

Founded in 2001, the SCO also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, whose country is an observer member, attended as he seeks Chinese and Russian support following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Warning that “unilateralism, trade protectionism and a backlash against globalisation are taking new forms”, Xi spoke up for the “pursuit of cooperation for mutual benefit”.

While never mentioning the US by name, he added: “We should reject the Cold War mentality and confrontation between blocs and oppose the practice of seeking absolute security of oneself at the expense of others.”

Xi, whose government is locked in tough negotiations with the US to avoid a trade war, said World Trade Organisation rules and the multilateral trading system should be upheld to build an open world economy.

“We should reject self-centred, shortsighted and closed-door policies,” said Xi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the addition of Pakistan and India means the organisation “has become stronger”.

The show of unity was in marked contrast to the calamitous

We should reject self-centred, shortsighted and closed-door policies.

end to the Group of Seven meeting in Quebec City, after US President Donald Trump disowned a joint summit statement and lambasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “dishonest” and “weak”.

Responding to criticism of Russia in the G7 statement, Putin told reporters that the group should “stop this creative babbling and shift to concrete issues related to real cooperation”.

The G7 text made no mention of Russia being invited back into the group, despite Trump’s support for such a move.

Russia was expelled in response to its 2014 annexation of Crimea. – AFP

Xi Jinping President of China