Tianjin — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Beijing, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tianjin. The rare diplomatic engagement between Tehran and Beijing highlights a growing strategic alignment amid escalating tensions with Washington and Tel Aviv.
Araghchi, who arrived in China for the SCO summit, emphasized that the organization is rapidly evolving beyond its regional identity. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, he said the SCO was now asserting itself globally across energy, security, and trade domains. This comes as Iran faces increasing isolation from Western powers, especially after coordinated strikes on its nuclear facilities by Israel with backing from the United States.
Iran’s top diplomat will also engage in bilateral meetings with his Chinese and Russian counterparts. As reported by Reuters, Araghchi stressed the urgency of these talks in light of current geopolitical threats and regional instability.
The SCO, he said, offers a platform to “safeguard multilateralism” in the face of Western attempts to impose unilateral dictates. According to Al Mayadeen, Araghchi acknowledged the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s formal condemnation of the recent attacks on Iran, highlighting that the bloc officially classified them as violations of Iranian sovereignty and threats to both regional and global stability. He confirmed that Iran’s response to these assaults will be a central focus of his address during the SCO’s general session, where he will present the government’s official position.
China’s invitation for a high-level meeting with Xi Jinping is being seen by analysts as a powerful diplomatic endorsement of Iran’s Eastward pivot. Beijing continues to advocate for non-interference, multilateral dialogue, and resistance to Western sanctions, principles closely aligned with Iran’s current foreign policy orientation.
Tehran’s economic ties with China remain crucial. Beijing currently imports around 90% of Iran’s sanctioned oil exports, creating a de facto economic corridor that sustains Tehran’s energy sector. In return, Iran has deepened its military and infrastructure cooperation under the framework of its 25-year strategic agreement with China, previously reported by Al Monitor.
Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s vision for the SCO as the “rising voice of the Global South,” pressing for a payment infrastructure independent of the dollar system. He argued this would safeguard member states from coercive economic pressure, a thinly veiled critique of the US Treasury’s global reach.
In addition to plenary sessions, the Tianjin meeting will see side discussions on SCO enlargement, digital infrastructure, and energy cooperation. According to unnamed officials cited by Reuters, Iran is expected to co-chair the next SCO energy commission with Kazakhstan and China, a move seen as deepening its long-term footprint in regional energy diplomacy.
The timing of Araghchi’s meeting with Xi Jinping was significant. Just days earlier, the United States intensified its confrontational stance by endorsing and supporting Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The coordinated aggression was widely viewed in Tehran as a blatant act of war and a calculated attempt to destabilize the region. In response, Iranian officials signaled that any further violations of their sovereignty would trigger a firm and strategic reaction, calibrated to defend national security and regional stability.
Xi Jinping’s decision to welcome Araghchi personally, rather than delegating the task to lower-level officials, is diplomatically significant. Analysts say it reflects China’s growing willingness to stand with Iran in the face of what both nations perceive as Western aggression and destabilization.
The broader message, made clear in both diplomatic rhetoric and trade figures, is that Tehran is not retreating, it is rebalancing. With the SCO summit in Tianjin set to produce several declarations on security cooperation, energy integration, and alternative financial channels, Iran’s pivot eastward is no longer aspirational. It is now institutional.
