Tianjin SCO Summit 2025: Space, Heritage, and Power Politics

Spread love

China stages the 25th SCO Summit in Tianjin—its colonial-era charm, expansive urban design, and global ambition on full display as a lesson India could take note of.

By TRH Global Affairs Desk

NEW DELHI, August 31, 2025 — Tianjin, China’s fourth-largest city by urban population and a longstanding maritime gateway to Beijing, is hosting the much-awaited SCO Summit 2025 this weekend. The two-day summit (August 31–September 1) marks the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the fifth time China has played host.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among approximately 20 world leaders converging here, showing China’s desire to reshape global alignments and challenge Western dominance.

Yashovardhan Jha Azad, former IPS officer, sees more than just diplomacy unfolding at this event. In his “Sunday observation,” he remarked: “How China plans everything big—a lesson for India to emulate.” In his view, Tianjin is not just about geopolitics; it’s a living lesson in urban design.

The wide avenues, massive convention halls, and open parks — “signs of developed nations,” he writes — foster orderliness, privacy, and serenity, even in crowded settings. And yet, he laments, “Every one outdoor activity of ours is a bedlam… only when you plan for wide spaces can you achieve discipline, orderliness and tranquility” — something India must replicate, he insists.

Tianjin’s physical character reinforces his perspective. Once a treaty port divided among nine foreign concessions—including British, French, German, and Italian—the city retains much of its colonial architecture. The historic Five Great Avenues (“Wudadao”) district, with over 230 buildings ranging from Renaissance and Gothic to Eclectic styles, reflects this multicultural legacy.

Churches such as the neo-Gothic All Saints’ Anglican Church and other European edifices still stand as well-preserved testaments to the city’s layered past.

Today, Tianjin is not just a historical gem but a modern, resilient city. It ranks as a Beta+ global second-tier city, boasting strong research, financial infrastructure, and the Binhai New Area’s rising “Manhattan-like” skyscrapers.

By hosting the SCO Summit along the spacious Hai River waterfront, Tianjin projects global ambition without sacrificing livability — blending vast communal spaces with urban grandeur. It sends a powerful signal: strategic power plays and civic design can coexist.

Azad’s final note cuts close to home: “Even this tweet or thought will not carry much traction—proving my point.” Yet, as the world watches Tianjin shine on the SCO stage, perhaps India, too, can take note—of planning, space, and the strength that comes from harnessing both.

Follow The Raisina Hills on WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn