The largest Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit since its founding has drawn leaders from over 20 countries and 10 international organizations to China. Although often framed as a strategic counterweight to the United States, this narrative oversimplifies the group’s true aspirations. The SCO’s future hinges not on Washington’s foreign policy but on its members’ ability to manage their own complex interests. The path to a lasting, effective role on the world stage requires the SCO to look inward, and become a genuinely cohesive, functional body.
The SCO’s founding principle is the “Shanghai Spirit,” which emphasizes mutual trust, benefit, equality, and respect for diverse civilizations. In the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, founding members united to secure borders, combat shared threats like terrorism, and forge a new model of international relations. The SCO became a powerful platform for countries to assert their sovereignty, advocate for a multipolar world, and unite against what they saw as unilateral American hegemony.
The SCO’s security and counter-terrorism efforts have yielded certain achievements. Its members were the first to establish a military trust mechanism in border regions, successfully transforming thousands of miles of shared borders into a “bond of friendship, trust, and cooperation.” The organization also pioneered multilateral action against the “three forces” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. By actively promoting law enforcement and security cooperation, and clearly opposing external interference, the SCO has effectively managed disputes and maintained regional peace and stability.
Perhaps the SCO’s most promising path lies in its economic agenda. Although geopolitical posturing grabs headlines, shared economic prosperity is the long-term glue that can hold the organization together. The SCO provides a crucial framework for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), facilitating massive infrastructure projects and expanding trade across Eurasia. Annual bilateral trade between China and other SCO members has surged past $500 billion, with China’s total investment stock exceeding $84 billion. An interconnected network now exists, with nearly 14,000 kilometers of international road routes and over 110,000 China-Europe freight trains in operation.
Beyond trade, the SCO has also fostered significant humanitarian and cultural exchanges. China has pledged to implement 100 “small but beautiful” livelihood projects, provide 2 billion RMB in grants and 10 billion RMB in loans, and strengthen human capital through education. Over the next five years, China will double the number of SCO scholarships and build 10 “Luban Workshops” to provide vocational training to 10,000 people. This focus on tangible benefits solidifies the SCO’s role as a force for development, not just a forum for political talk.
Despite these successes, the SCO faces internal hurdles. It’s a collection of nations with deep-seated rivalries and diverging interests. Border disputes and geopolitical competition between India and China—two of its most powerful members—threaten to unravel unity. Similarly, tensions between India and Pakistan have repeatedly stalled progress. The SCO’s charter promotes peaceful dispute resolution, yet the organization has consistently failed to act as an effective mediator among its own members. The recent inclusion of new members like Iran and Belarus further complicates its internal dynamics.
To achieve lasting success, the SCO must become more than a symbolic club. It needs a stronger institutional framework to deliver tangible results. The current reliance on consensus-based decision-making allows any single member to effectively veto an action, creating perpetual inertia. Without the ability to enforce its own resolutions or mediate conflicts, the SCO risks remaining a forum for rhetoric rather than a force for change.
Beyond its regional focus, the Tianjin Summit served as a platform for a significant shift in China’s international role. President Xi formally introduced the “Global Governance Initiative” (GGI), a systematic framework for a new world order. Rooted in China’s cultural heritage and previous global initiatives, the GGI outlines five core principles: upholding sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating a people-centered approach, and emphasizing action-oriented principles. This initiative is a direct response to a world grappling with deficits in development, security, and governance. The GGI signifies China’s transformation from a responsible participant to a leading shaper of the global system, offering a clear vision for a more just and equitable international order.
Ultimately, the SCO’s success is not a question of whether it can survive U.S. pressure. The more pressing question is whether it can survive itself. The organization must address its internal divisions, strengthen its institutions, and prioritize its economic mission. This requires a shift towards a more results-oriented and efficient organization. This includes establishing a development bank and expediting the opening of a center for responding to security threats. By moving from a “talking shop” to a functional body with robust institutions and a clear agenda, the SCO can secure its place as a relevant and enduring force in the 21st century.