China and Russia’s stance on the Iran nuclear deal will be a top issue at the regional security summit in Qingdao
By
08 June, 2018
With all eyes on the upcoming US-North Korea leaders’ meeting, the weekend summit of a China-led regional security bloc has gone largely under the international radar.
But when the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit gets under way in the Chinese port city of Qingdao on Saturday, the leaders from the eight-member bloc are expected to address the big global issues, from the tensions on the Korean peninsula, to the Iran nuclear deal and US trade policies.
Beijing will be looking to press a series of key cross-border matters, particularly the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and greater cooperation to combat the “three evil forces” of terrorism, extremism and separatism, according to state-run Xinhua. Drug trafficking and cybercrime are also on the agenda.
The SCO was set up in 2001 with six member countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It expanded to eight last year with the admission of India and Pakistan. The bloc also has four observer states – Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia – and six dialogue partners, including Turkey, a member of Nato.
Read more at www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence
