What is the SCO and Why Its Role Is Growing in Today’s World: Summing Up the Tianjin Summit
In the eastern Chinese city of Tianjin, a significant diplomatic event is taking place — a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which brings together Eurasian countries to strengthen security and promote economic cooperation.
It is one of the largest international platforms in the region, combining security alliances and economic forums.
Founded in 2001 in Shanghai, the organization initially focused on counter-terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
Over time, its mandate expanded, and today the SCO is seen as an alternative platform for countries seeking to enhance their influence outside Western frameworks.
The organization includes ten member states: Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Its headquarters are located in Beijing, with Chinese and Russian as official languages.
Recently, Belarus joined the SCO as its tenth full member, significantly boosting its international profile.
Besides the permanent members, SCO has two observer states — Afghanistan and Mongolia — and fourteen dialogue partners, making it a broader platform than just a regional alliance, covering vast parts of Eurasia and the Global South.
According to Reuters, during this summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping gathered world leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Masoud Pzeheshkian, Nikol Pashinyan, Alexander Lukashenko, Shehbaz Sharif, Emomali Rakhmon, Min Aung Hlaing, Ilham Aliyev, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, Mustafa Madbouli, Mohamed Muizz, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and others.
The summit serves as a venue for discussing global issues and the emerging new world order, shaped by major powers.
Leaders like Putin and Jinping emphasize strategic partnerships that underscore the growing strength of Beijing and Moscow’s alliance, aiming to lay the foundations for a polycentric global system amid rising tensions with the West.