Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin took turns to swipe at the West during a gathering of Eurasian leaders aimed at putting China at the forefront of regional relations.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) touts itself as a non-Western style of collaboration between 10 countries in the region and seeks to be an alternative to traditional alliances.
Xi told leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that the global situation was becoming more "chaotic and intertwined".
The Chinese leader also criticised "bullying behaviour" from certain countries — a veiled reference to the United States.
Putin used his speech to defend Russia's Ukraine offensive, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.
"This crisis wasn't triggered by Russia's attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West," Putin said.
Ukraine's foreign ministry urged China to work towards peace during Putin's visit, saying in a statement from Kyiv they "would welcome a more active role" for China to help find peace "based on respect for the UN Charter".
Putin, meanwhile, praised Türkiye's mediation efforts in the conflict as he met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
And Putin later met his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said, with the pair expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
'Always insightful'
Xi, Putin and Modi were seen chatting, flanked by their translators. Modi and Putin were photographed holding hands and held talks in the afternoon.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre), Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Eurasian political, economic, and international security organisation comprising 10 member states. Source: Getty / Suo Takekuma
"Conversations with him are always insightful," Modi posted on X alongside a photograph of them travelling in the car.
Before their meeting, Modi praised the "special and privileged strategic partnership" with Russia and said India wanted both sides in the Ukraine conflict to "find stable peace".
'Mutual trust'
The SCO summit kicked off on Sunday, days before a massive military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War Two.
The member states signed a declaration on Monday, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as security and the economy, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhua stated the leaders also admitted Laos as an observer country, or "dialogue partner" — the summit already has 16 observers.
Xi held a flurry of back-to-back meetings with leaders, including Lukashenko — one of Putin's staunch allies — and Modi, who is on his first visit to China since 2018.
Modi told Xi that India was committed to taking "forward our ties on the basis of mutual trust, dignity and sensitivity".
The world's two most populous nations are intense rivals, competing for influence across South Asia, and they engaged in a border clash in 2020.
A thaw started last October, when Modi met Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Their rapprochement deepened as US President Donald Trump pressured both Asian economic giants with trade tariffs.
More than 20 leaders are attending the bloc's largest meeting since its founding in 2001.
Many of the assembled dignitaries will be in Beijing on Wednesday to watch the military parade, which will also be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
