TIANJIN, China/ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Sunday in China to attend the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a guest of honor.

Erdogan was welcomed at Binhai International Airport by Chinese minister Lei Haichao, Türkiye's Ambassador to Beijing Selcuk Unal and embassy staff.

He was accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, along with ministers and officials.

Erdogan will attend a dinner Sunday hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He will address Monday's summit session in an expanded format and hold talks with Jinping and other leaders during his visit to Tianjin, according to Türkiye's Communications Director Burhanettin Duran.

The summit convenes amid escalating geopolitical tensions, including Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, the Ukraine crisis and international tariff disputes. Xi, serving as the rotating chair, will preside over China's fifth annual SCO hosting.

Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will participate, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev will attend the gathering scheduled for Sunday and Monday.

Expanding organization

The SCO evolved from the "Shanghai Five" mechanism comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan before Uzbekistan joined as the sixth member. Today it includes 10 member states, two observers and 14 dialogue partners across Asia, Europe and Africa.

Türkiye is one of the dialogue partners of the organization

The organization covers approximately 24% of global land area and 42% of the world’s population, with member states accounting for roughly one-quarter of global GDP and trade increasing nearly 100-fold in two decades.