China's President Xi to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting by video

According to the report, leaders of the key regional security bloc will discuss Afghanistan, a neighbouring country of the SCO's largely Central Asian members in which the Taliban took power a month ago. The summit is to be held in Tajikistan's Dushanbe.

China's President Xi Jinping will attend a meeting of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries via video on Sept. 17, according to the official Xinhua, citing the Chinese foreign ministry. According to the report, leaders of the key regional security bloc will discuss Afghanistan, a neighbouring country of the SCO's largely Central Asian members in which the Taliban took power a month ago.

The summit is to be held in Tajikistan's Dushanbe. Afghanistan itself is an observer at the SCO and Iran, another observer, has been seeking entry. The SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other security concerns in China, Russia and four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics.