ASTANA — Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping hailed their Eurasian security club on Wednesday (July 3) as a force for global stability at a summit of the regional body, which is seen by Moscow and Beijing as a tool to counter Western influence.

Putin and the Chinese president have expanded the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a club founded in 2001 with Russia, China and Central Asian nations, to include India, Iran and Pakistan as a counterweight to the West.

"The organisation has firmly established itself as one of the key pillars of a fair, multipolar world order," Putin said, adding that bilateral ties between Moscow and Beijing were at their best in history.

"Our co-operation is not aimed against anyone, we are not creating any blocs or alliances, we are just acting in the interests of our peoples," Putin said.

In his opening remarks, Xi told Putin that China and Russia should "uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations" in response to an "ever-changing international situation".

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