Amid Middle East Ceasefire, China Hosts Defence Giants—What You Need to Know

In a bold show of power diplomacy, China welcomed top defence officials from Russia, Iran, and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Thursday, June 26, just one day after NATO leaders pledged to ramp up military spending.

The high-stakes gathering took place in Qingdao, a port city symbolic of China’s naval aspirations, and comes at a time of growing global unrest, fragile ceasefires in the Middle East, and increasingly aggressive military postures from Western powers.

With China, Russia, Iran, India, and Central Asian nations around the table, the 10-member SCO is being positioned as a strategic counterweight to NATO.

China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun didn’t mince words, calling the world “a place of intertwined turmoil and changes,” and presented the SCO as a potential “anchor of global stability.”

Russia’s new Defence Minister Andrei Belousov also struck a grim tone, warning of escalating “geopolitical tensions” and a deteriorating international order—language echoing Moscow’s confrontational stance against the West.

The summit coincides with a fragile truce between Iran and Israel after nearly two weeks of violent confrontations.

Despite its close ties to Tehran, China has so far avoided direct involvement, limiting its support to diplomatic lip service.

“Any real backing will remain symbolic,” said defence analyst James Char of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Meanwhile, foreign policy expert Andrea Ghiselli of the University of Exeter believes China won’t risk selling weapons to Iran, fearing backlash from the U.S. or Israel.

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also present, warned of the world’s shifting tides.

“Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum,” he said, urging SCO countries to band together against common threats.

Caught between deepening ties with Russia and Iran and the need to avoid open confrontation with the United States and its allies, China is walking a geopolitical tightrope.

The Qingdao defence summit is more than symbolic—it’s a signal that global alliances are shifting, and that China is quietly building its own military and diplomatic axis while watching NATO’s every move.

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