At the recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, India achieved a series of subtle but substantive diplomatic breakthroughs that signalled an important recalibration of its role in Eurasian and Asian geopolitics.

One of the most notable outcomes was India’s success in securing a joint condemnation of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

Traditionally, SCO declarations on terrorism have carried ambiguous language that avoided singling out cross-border extremism, often suiting Pakistan and sometimes receiving tacit Chinese backing. By ensuring a clear articulation of solidarity against the Pahalgam attack, New Delhi not only underscored the legitimacy of its longstanding security concerns but also demonstrated its growing ability to shape the SCO agenda from within.

This marked a shift in the grouping’s collective stance on terrorism, validating India’s insistence that member-states cannot selectively approach the menace of radical extremism.

A second dimension of India’s performance at the summit centred on the carefully choreographed interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Although the two leaders did not announce a dramatic breakthrough in their bilateral tensions, their meeting was widely read as a cautious reset in ties that remain strained following the border standoff in Ladakh.

Both sides signalled a willingness to engage, with Modi emphasising that a productive Sino-Indian relationship must rest on peace and stability at the boundary, and Xi projecting readiness to explore gradual de-escalation mechanisms.

While substantive disputes endure, particularly over troop disengagement and territorial sovereignty, this diplomatic engagement allowed Beijing and New Delhi to reintroduce a degree of predictability in their dialogue. For the SCO, this meeting helped prevent India–China divergences from overshadowing the grouping’s collective agenda.

On the economic front, India placed trade and connectivity at the center of its summit intervention, but importantly, Modi emphasised New Delhi’s sovereignty-first developmental vision as a credible alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Without directly confronting Beijing, he underlined principles of transparent funding, equitable partnerships, and respect for territorial integrity—principles that many Global South countries increasingly see as vital in the face of unsustainable debts and infrastructure vulnerabilities associated with BRI projects.

India pitched its role as a responsible and democratic partner offering reliable supply chain alternatives, digital innovation, and diversified trade routes, particularly in energy and critical minerals. Several countries expressed interest in building economic partnerships that were complementary rather than subordinated, indirectly strengthening India’s position in the group.

Equally significant was India’s use of quiet diplomacy and multiple bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the summit. Modi met with leaders from Central Asia, Russia, and Turkey, stressing New Delhi’s commitment to regional stability, counterterrorism, and cooperative growth.

These conversations were carefully balanced—reinforcing India’s strategic autonomy by engaging with Russia despite Western scrutiny, while simultaneously aligning with countries wary of both Chinese dominance and Western conditionalities.

By showing that India can straddle multiple alliances and advocate for multipolarity without compromising its core interests, New Delhi positioned itself as a credible bridge between great powers and developing states alike.

In sum, India’s performance at the Tianjin SCO Summit can be characterised as a quiet but effective consolidation of influence.

By shaping the group’s counterterrorism narrative, cautiously reopening lines of communication with China, positioning its trade vision as a sovereign, democratic alternative to large-scale infrastructure debt diplomacy, and engaging bilaterally with a diverse set of actors, New Delhi reinforced its global reputation as a nation capable of pursuing principled yet pragmatic diplomacy.

The breakthroughs at the summit may not have resolved long-standing disputes, but they significantly elevated India’s standing within the SCO and projected a clear message to the wider Global South: India is willing and able to lead in advancing stability, development, and autonomy in an increasingly complex international order.

Based On Palki Sharma's Vantage Video Report