Qingdao Summit: A Strategic Response to NATO’s Surge in Europe
By Reuters – June 26, 2025
In the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, on June 26, 2025, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun hosted a high-profile gathering of defence chiefs from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Among the attending dignitaries were his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and others. The meeting took place against a backdrop of acute geostrategic tension: the fragile Middle East ceasefire and the NATO summit in The Hague—events that sharply highlighted mounting global divisions and intensified military posturing.
▪ Setting the Stage: Strategic Timing, Symbolic Venue
The timing of the Qingdao meeting was more than coincidental—it took place just days after a pivotal NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025, during which member states pledged to further boost defense spending in response to perceived threats or strategic demands coming from U.S. President Donald TrumpThis summit reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to the 2% GDP defense spending goal and reinforced the alliance’s long-term military-industrial capabilities. Simultaneously, it underscored NATO’s emerging posture as a counterbalance to challenges posed by Russia, China, and rising regional instability.
Against this climate, the Qingdao summit emerged as Beijing’s concerted effort to offer an alternative security architecture—one rooted in multipolar cooperation rather than Western-led alliances. Held in a city that hosts a major People’s Liberation Army Navy base, the venue itself was symbolically chosen to reflect maritime strength and strategic projectionIn his opening remarks, Dong Jun framed the meeting’s purpose as a necessary “counterweight to a world in chaos and instability.” He condemned what he called a rise in “unilateralism and protectionism,” and denounced “hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts” that threaten international order
▪ A Fragile Ceasefire: Middle East Context
Just as these international alignments were playing out, the Middle East found itself teetering on the brink. A tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel—holding after twelve days of intense hostilities—formed another limit of the Qingdao backdrop In these conditions, this regionally infused conflict placed additional pressure on the global system, compelling nations like China to signal their readiness to engage in multilateral crisis management and conflict mediation.
▪ SCO: China’s Strategic Platform
Established in 2001 and comprising ten member states, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has frequently been presented as a viable counterbalance to Western alliances. With interests spanning security, economic cooperation, diplomacy, and scientific exchange, the SCO is China’s primary geopolitical tool in Central and South Asia, and increasingly beyond. Even long-standing tensions between SCO members—such as India and Pakistan—have not prevented China from leveraging the bloc for regional influence.
At previous SCO summits, Beijing has emphasized shared values centered on non-interference and sovereignty. This Qingdao meeting of defence ministers underscored China’s ambition to recalibrate the security architecture in Eurasia, bringing together SCO countries to discuss military cooperation in the face of what it portrayed as Western-led instability.
▪ NATO in The Hague: A Boost in Defence Spending
The NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025, drew sharp focus. Participants included forty-five heads of state and government, ninety ministers of defence and foreign affairs, and thousands of delegates l. During the summit, a key decision was made: NATO countries would step up defense funding to meet President Trump’s demand that all members spend at least 2% of GDP on defense—a pledge many had yet to fulfill. Additionally, leaders agreed to bolster industrial capacity to ensure delivery of strategic capabilities and strengthen the alliance’s air, missile, cyber, and deterrence posture
Hosted at Huis ten Bosch, the Dutch royal palace, the summit’s symbolic architecture further reinforced its significance in the alliance’s collective efforanwhile, events during summit week stressed multilateral diplomacy involving defense industry players, youth summits, foreign affairs discussions, and educational outreach throughout the Netherlands .
▪ China’s Response: Dong Jun’s Vis
His message was twofold: first, to present China and its SCO partners as a stabilizing force; second, to highlight opposition to what Beijing departs as Western coercion, noting that hegemonic behaviors posed threats to global security.
Dong’s agenda for the meeting included calls for “more robust actions to jointly safeguard the environment for peaceful development,” a phrase denoting both collective defence and proactive security cooperaThe Chinese Ministry of Defense didn’t detail specific initiatives, but the tone made clear that China seeks a bigger role in shaping Eurasian security, whether by joint exercises, naval cooperation, or military dialogue frameworks.
▪ Moscow’s Backing: Russia’s Defence Minister
In Qingdao, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov affirmed Moscow’s forthright backing for deeper Sino-Russian military cooperation. He hailed relations with Beijing as being at an “unprecedentedly high level,” and said they were hough China often brands itself as “neutral” in the Ukraine conflict, Western governments contend its deep economic and diplomatic ties provide Russia with critical support. Belousov’s words—particularly in proximity to a naval base—helped underscore the extent to which China has now become a security partner to Moscow, even within the SCO framework. These convergences challenge the Western narrative of isolating Russia economically and diplomatically.
▪ Big Picture: A Multipolar World in Flux
Global geopolitics today is characterized by two inexorable trends: deepening polarization between Western-led and non-Western security architectures, and a spinning dynamic of new alliances, partnerships, and security dialogues across Eurasia, Eurasia–Middle East–Asia. The SCO summit follows in the shadow of NATO’s push, representing China’s strategic answer to Western security initiatives.
The Sino-Russian axis and SCO partners like Pakistan and Iran, already sharing complex bonds, seek military technology transfers, joint exercises, coordinated maritime patrols, and other forms of defense collaboration. Conversely, China has tried to maintain a degree of separation in dealing with Russia’s war against Ukraine—casting its stance as neutral, while Western observers point to an underlying supply ne
▪ Regional Ripples: Middle East & Asi
The timing of the summit was critical. The fragile Iran–Israel ceasefire created a window of opportunity for diplomacy—but also a point of tension. By bringing Iran’s defence minister into a coordination framework that includes major powers, China potentially positioned itself as a broker across geopolitical rift zones .
On the Asian front, just a month earlier in Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, Dong Jun and his U.S. counterpart, Secretary Austin, had conducted high-level defence discussions marking a cautious reopening of Sino-American military communicationdelegation in a different recent forum suggested a fine calibration of its global posture .
▪ Balancing Acts and Soft Power Messaging
Observers detected multiple reasons behind China’s orchestration of the Qingdao meeting:
-
Strategic Signaling: The summit represented an attempt to draw strategic lines around Eurasia—part of China’s broader ambition to craft a communication-rich, security-minded, multipolar world.
-
Diplomatic Coordination: By including Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and others, China is sewing along the edges of a global fabric capable of reacting as a unified body to destabilizing events or security threats that fall outside NATO’s orbit.
-
Counter-narrative to NATO: In emphasizing non-Western cooperation, China rebutted NATO’s collective narrative. Dong’s call to “safeguard an environment for peaceful development” was implicitly directed at the Western military spending agenda.
-
Domestic Messaging: Hosting a major defence summit underscores China’s image of growing military-industrial strength and reunification of global influence—messages targeted at both domestic and regional audiences.
▪ Risks and Roadblocks
However, the SCO strategy comes with complications:
-
Although China maintains nominal neutrality on Ukraine, increased military alignment with Russia risks Western backlash, sanctions, or growing economic fragmentation of China from trade-intensive Western institutions.
-
Within the SCO, priorities differ significantly. Iran is dealing with a regional conflict and US sanctions; Pakistan faces security challenges at home; and Belarus remains a regional outlier. Crafting unified consensus and actionable defence strategies across such diversity is no small order.
-
China must also navigate the optics of its relationship with Russia. While Beijing insists its stance is neutral, Moscow is unquestionably benefiting from Chinese diplomacy and technological ties, creating potential openings for Western criticism.
▪ Global Reaction and Outlook
Western capitals were likely watching Qingdao closely. For NATO, this gathering is a sign that China is assuming a more direct challenge to its dominance—especially in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific security architecture. The contrast between NATO’s perceived concerted Western front and the alternative SCO alignment was stark.
Diplomats in the Middle East and Central Asia may see the meeting as a shift toward more prominent Chinese involvement in conflict resolution, especially in areas where Western engagement is inconsistent or treated with suspicion. As rhetorical diplomacy evolves into substantive defence cooperation, the region may witness more joint drills, naval patrols, or strategic dialogues.
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▪ Final Analysis: What Lies Ahead
The Qingdao summit represented a major step in China’s ongoing strategy to craft a multipolar security order—one that challenges Western dominance and highlights regional groupings like the SCO. Whether this translates into concrete military coordination remains uncertain, but the signal was clear: Beijing intends to lead.
By gathering foreign defence ministers just days after NATO’s major meeting, China drove home its message: maintaining ideological and military balance is no longer a Western prerogative alone. Instead, it is a global contest over structures, spending priorities, and alliances.
As Sino-Western tensions deepen, the Qingdao gathering marks a new chapter in global geopolitics—with China, Russia, and regional partners on one axis, and NATO-led institutions on another. In a world described by Dong Jun as increasingly chaotic and unstable, both camps are positioning themselves to safeguard their perceived peace models—and alliances.
Qingdao Summit: A Strategic Response to NATO’s Surge in Europe
By Reuters – June 26, 2025
In the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, on June 26, 2025, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun hosted a high-profile gathering of defence chiefs from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Among the attending dignitaries were his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and others. The meeting took place against a backdrop of acute geostrategic tension: the fragile Middle East ceasefire and the NATO summit in The Hague—events that sharply highlighted mounting global divisions and intensified military posturing.
The timing of the Qingdao meeting was more than coincidental—it took place just days after a pivotal NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025, during which member states pledged to further boost defense spending in response to perceived threats or strategic demands coming from U.S. President Donald Tru This summit reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to the 2% GDP defense spending goal and reinforced the alliance’s long-term military-industrial capabilities. Simultaneously, it underscored NATO’s emerging posture as a counterbalance to challenges posed by Russia, China, and rising regional instability ministers .
Against this climate, the Qingdao summit emerged as Beijing’s concerted effort to offer an alternative security architecture—one rooted in multipolar cooperation rather than Western-led alliances. Held in a city that hosts a major People’s Liberation Army Navy base, the venue itself was symbolically chosen to reflect maritime strength and strategic projectin his opening remarks, Dong Jun framed the meeting’s purpose as a necessary “counterweight to a world in chaos and instability.” He condemned what he called a rise in “unilatera
▪ A Fragile Ceasefire: Middle East Context
Just as these international alignments were playing out, the Middle East found itself teetering on the brink. A tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel—holding after twelve days of intense hostilities—formed another limit of the Qingdao backdrn these conditions, this regionally infused conflict placed additional pressure on the global system, compelling nations like China to signal their readiness to engage in multilateral crisis management and conflict mediation ministers .
▪ SCO: China’s Strategic Platform
Established in 2001 and comprising ten member states, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has frequently been presented as a viable counterbalance to Western alliances. With interests spanning security, economic cooperation, diplomacy, and scientific exchange, the SCO is China’s primary geopolitical tool in Central and South Asia, and increasingly beyond. Even long-standing tensions between SCO members—such as India and Pakistan—have not prevented China from leveraging the bloc for regional influence.
At previous SCO summits, Beijing has emphasized shared values centered on non-interference and sovereignty. This Qingdao meeting of defence ministers underscored China’s ambition to recalibrate the security architecture in Eurasia, bringing together SCO countries to discuss military cooperation in the face of what it portrayed as Western-led instability.
▪ NATO in The Hague: A Boost in Defence Spending
The NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, 2025, drew sharp focus. Participants included forty-five heads of state and government, ninety ministers of defence and foreign affairs, and thousands of delegates During the summit, a key decision was made: NATO countries would step up defense funding to meet President Trump’s demand that all members spend at least 2% of GDP on defense—a pledge many had yet to fulfill. Additionally, leaders agreed to bolster industrial capacity to ensure delivery of strategic capabilities and strengthen the alliance’s air, missile, cyber, and deterrence postures ministers .
Hosted at Huis ten Bosch, the Dutch royal palace, the summit’s symbolic architecture further reinforced its significance in the alliance’s collective effort wheel Meanwhile, events during summit week stressed multilateral diplomacy involving defense industry players, youth summits, foreign affairs discussions, and educational outreach throughout the Netherlands ministers .
▪ China’s Response: Dong Jun’s Vision
Against this backdrop, Defence Minister Dong Jun made clear the emphasis of the Qingdao meeting. He framed the world as riding through a period of “momentous changes” in which unilateral policies, protectionism, and global instability were on the ris. His message was twofold: first, to present China and its SCO partners as a stabilizing force; second, to highlight opposition to what Beijing departs as Western coercion, noting that hegemonic behaviors posed threats to global security.
Dong’s agenda for the meeting included calls for “more robust actions to jointly safeguard the environment for peaceful development,” a phrase denoting both collective defence and proactive security cooperation e Chinese Ministry of Defense didn’t detail specific initiatives, but the tone made clear that China seeks a bigger role in shaping Eurasian security, whether by joint exercises, naval cooperation, or military dialogue frameworks.
▪ Moscow’s Backing: Russia’s Defence Minister
In Qingdao, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov affirmed Moscow’s forthright backing for deeper Sino-Russian military cooperation. He hailed relations with Beijing as being at an “unprecedentedly high level,” and said they were moving upward across multiple domains. His remarks spoke to the political and strategic depth of the Sino-Russian alignmente Ukraine conflict, Western governments contend its deep economic and diplomatic ties provide Russia with critical support. Belousov’s words—particularly in proximity to a naval base—helped underscore the extent to which China has now become a security partner to Moscow, even within the SCO framework. These convergences challenge the Western narrative of isolating Russia economically and diplomatically ministers .
▪ Big Picture: A Multipolar World in Flux
Global geopolitics today is characterized by two inexorable trends: deepening polarization between Western-led and non-Western security architectures, and a spinning dynamic of new alliances, partnerships, and security dialogues across Eurasia, Eurasia–Middle East–Asia. The SCO summit follows in the shadow of NATO’s push, representing China’s strategic answer to Western security initiativesministers .
The Sino-Russian axis and SCO partners like Pakistan and Iran, already sharing complex bonds, seek military technology transfers, joint exercises, coordinated maritime patrols, and other forms of defense collaboration. Conversely, China has tried to maintain a degree of separation in dealing with Russia’s war against Ukraine—casting its stance as neutral, while Western observers point to an underlying supply network ministers .
▪ Regional Ripples: Middle East & Asia
The timing of the summit was critical. The fragile Iran–Israel ceasefire created a window of opportunity for diplomacy—but also a point of tension. By bringing Iran’s defence minister into a coordination framework that includes major powers, China potentially positioned itself as a broker across geopolitical rift zones .ministers .
On the Asian front, just a month earlier in Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, Dong Jun and his U.S. counterpart, Secretary Austin, had conducted high-level defence discussions marking a cautious reopening of Sino-American military communicatioeveral lower-level US–China defense channel dialogues remain paused. Beijing’s decision to send a lower-level delegation in a different recent forum suggested a fine calibration of its global posture ministers .
▪ Balancing Acts and Soft Power Messaging
Observers detected multiple reasons behind China’s orchestration of the Qingdao meeting:
-
Strategic Signaling: The summit represented an attempt to draw strategic lines around Eurasia—part of China’s broader ambition to craft a communication-rich, security-minded, multipolar world ministers .
-
Diplomatic Coordination: By including Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and others, China is sewing along the edges of a global fabric capable of reacting as a unified body to destabilizing events or security threats that fall outside NATO’s orbit ministers .
-
Counter-narrative to NATO: In emphasizing non-Western cooperation, China rebutted NATO’s collective narrative. Dong’s call to “safeguard an environment for peaceful development” was implicitly directed at the Western military spending agenda ministers .
-
Domestic Messaging: Hosting a major defence summit underscores China’s image of growing military-industrial strength and reunification of global influence—messages targeted at both domestic and regional audiences ministers .
▪ Risks and Roadblocks
However, the SCO strategy comes with complications:
-
Although China maintains nominal neutrality on Ukraine, increased military alignment with Russia risks Western backlash, sanctions, or growing economic fragmentation of China from trade-intensive Western institutions.
-
Within the SCO, priorities differ significantly. Iran is dealing with a regional conflict and US sanctions; Pakistan faces security challenges at home; and Belarus remains a regional outlier. Crafting unified consensus and actionable defence strategies across such diversity is no small order ministers .
-
China must also navigate the optics of its relationship with Russia. While Beijing insists its stance is neutral, Moscow is unquestionably benefiting from Chinese diplomacy and technological ties, creating potential openings for Western criticism ministers .
▪ Global Reaction and Outlook
Western capitals were likely watching Qingdao closely. For NATO, this gathering is a sign that China is assuming a more direct challenge to its dominance—especially in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific security architecture. The contrast between NATO’s perceived concerted Western front and the alternative SCO alignment was starkministers .
Diplomats in the Middle East and Central Asia may see the meeting as a shift toward more prominent Chinese involvement in conflict resolution, especially in areas where Western engagement is inconsistent or treated with suspicion. As rhetorical diplomacy evolves into substantive defence cooperation, the region may witness more joint drills, naval patrols, or strategic dialoguesministers .
▪ Final Analysis: What Lies Ahead
The Qingdao summit represented a major step in China’s ongoing strategy to craft a multipolar security order—one that challenges Western dominance and highlights regional groupings like the SCO. Whether this translates into concrete military coordination remains uncertain, but the signal was clear: Beijing intends to lead.
By gathering foreign defence ministers just days after NATO’s major meeting, China drove home its message: maintaining ideological and military balance is no longer a Western prerogative alone. Instead, it is a global contest over structures, spending priorities, and alliances ministers .
As Sino-Western tensions deepen, the Qingdao gathering marks a new chapter in global geopolitics—with China, Russia, and regional partners on one axis, and NATO-led institutions on another. In a world described by Dong Jun as increasingly chaotic and unstable, both camps are positioning themselves to safeguard their perceived peace models—and alliances.
