China Hosts Regional Security Summit

China is opening a two-day regional security summit attended by Russia, Iran and other allies confronting rising tensions with the United States over trade and Washington's withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Armoured vans lined the streets of the coastal city of Qingdao as world leaders arrived on Friday for the 18th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security bloc led by China and Russia.

Its member states also include four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. Iran is an observer member.

Authorities emptied an entire swathe of the city - clearing out shopkeepers, residents and day-trippers to make way for President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting.

The SCO meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump controversially pulled Washington out of the 2015 international pact with Iran that placed limits on its nuclear programme in return for easing economic sanctions. (AFP)