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| Officials attend a meeting in the SCO Plus format at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. (Photo: Sputnik/Sergei Bobylyov/Pool via Reuters) |
Leaders from 27 countries, including China, Russia, India and countries of Asia and Africa, gathered at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meeting and the “SCO+” meeting in Tianjin to discuss the “Shanghai Spirit” of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respecting diversity and seeking common development.The 10 SCO member countries issued a joint declaration reflecting their common stance on a multipolar world, the multilateral trading system, Eurasian security, the deepening of cooperation against terrorism and other matters. Against the backdrop of rampant trade protectionism and escalating geopolitical confrontation, the meetings provided the world with the positive energy of stability, peace and development and will be conducive to balancing America's arrogant hegemony.
Eurasia is a sort of global island, where Russia and Central Asia connect East Asia with Europe. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the SCO has played a significant role in promoting good neighborly ties and win-win cooperation between China, Russia and Central Asian countries.Dovetailing China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union has not only resulted in closer ties between SCO members but has also promoted economic and trade cooperation, security dialogue and people-to-people exchanges between China and Europe as well as between Russia and Europe. The SCO has expanded twice since 2017, and shown considerable cohesion and appeal with more observer nations and dialogue partners.
China, Russia and India are major Eurasian nations and SCO members, so their leaders' friendly meeting in Tianjin itself is conducive to preserving peace and stability in Eurasia. It will function as a hedge to balance attempts by regional outsiders to alienate and sabotage China-Russia-India relations.
As the sole superpower in the world, the United States is accustomed to divide-and-conquer tactics to maintain its hegemony. In this regard, it is delighted when differences arise in relations involving China, Russia and India, and it won't hesitate to exploit them.As the Russia-Ukraine conflict crosses the three-and-a-half-year mark, Donald Trump did not hesitate to sacrifice European allies' interests to promote U.S.-Russia engagement and detente. His administration certainly has calculations for gradually breaking away from the quagmire. On the other hand, American think tanks and media discussions — known as “reverse Nixon” — reveal the White House's attempt to sow discord between China and Russia. On the pretext of India's continuing to buy Russian oil, which supposedly helps Russia pay for the war in Ukraine, Washington has imposed punitive tariffs on Indian exports to the United States. Its original purpose was to undermine Russia-India ties.The U.S. has long followed a strategy of “enticing India and suppressing China” and in recent years even cobbled together the “Quad” to strengthen its strategic encirclement of China. Its attempt to intensify China-India mutual suspicion and create confrontation has become obvious to all.
However, European nations have worked hard to keep the U.S. in the game of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, even though it is trying to withdraw. Trump himself has appeared capricious on the matter, which has made it difficult for the U.S. to win the trust of Vladimir Putin or shake the solid China-Russia strategic partnership. During their meeting in Tianjin, China, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia's Putin displayed a posture that appeared to disregard coercive U.S. pressure. This suggests that the highly resilient Russia-India relationship has withstood the test.Pressured by the U.S., India has also taken advantage of the Tianjin summit to ease relations with China, which had deteriorated because of border disputes. Although the U.S. and India have a common interest in checking and balancing China, India has its own tradition of strategic autonomy and the political wisdom not to become someone else's chess piece.
If dialogue and collaboration involving China, Russia and India were only an outcome of external pressure, such expedient partnerships would obviously not be enough. The three huge close neighbors, which are complementary to one another in economy and trade, are fully capable of greater achievements. The shortfalls in China-India relations, in particular, can be addressed in due course.In his meeting with Modi, President Xi Jinping said that so long as the two countries take each other as cooperative partners rather than rivals, and as development opportunities rather than threats, China-India relations will prosper. The correct choice, then, is for both sides is to learn to dance the “Dragon-Elephant Tango.”
SCO leaders also published the “Tianjin Declaration,” which is conductive to cooperation involving Global South nations, to global multi-polarization and to the rising influence of developing nations. As the U.S. abusively places tariffs on other countries, the declaration expressed the desire to preserve and enhance the multilateral trading mechanism and facilitate open world economic development.As the U.S. impulsively imposes export controls and long-arm jurisdiction against China, continues large-scale sanctions against Russia and lays secondary sanctions on India, the declaration condemned such unilateral coercive measures, which threaten food and energy security and negatively impact the global economy.
With U.S. support, Israel is continuing its rampage in Gaza, sinking the region into a severe humanitarian quagmire, and the international community has responded with strong indignation. More countries now support recognizing Palestinian statehood. The declaration's call for a comprehensive, just solution to the Palestinian issue amounts to a denunciation of the U.S. and Israel. More important, the declaration strongly condemns their military assault on Iran, lambasting the violation of Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermining regional and international security. Iran is a SCO member. It is thus proper to show support for it.
The invitation to the SCO Tianjin summit of the leaders of Mongolia, Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam, Armenia and Azerbaijan showcased the group's openness, inclusiveness and vitality. Developing ties with such international and regional organizations as the UN, ASEAN and Eurasian Economic Union will also help the SCO play constructive roles in greater spaces and broader realms.
China is encouraging the SCO to build a regional security community, and turn it into an organization that preserves the purpose and principles of the UN Charter — one that opposes external interference, hegemony and power politics and is dedicated to a multipolar world and democratic international relations. All countries and organizations that embrace the SCO's ideals and development direction can become SCO partners.
Despite all its achievements, the SCO has a long way to go before becoming a regional security community. The organization sometimes may be more inclusive than centripetal. Territorial disputes, historical discord and competitive mindsets between members often create ways for extra-regional nations to set them against one another. It thus remains challenging to better manage the contradictions between member countries. On certain significant regional hot spots where world peace and stability are concerned, the SCO may be able to play a more proactive role in shelving disputes, seeking common ground, increasing mutual confidence and promoting cooperation.
Fortunately, as things evolve, SCO members and an increasing number of countries in the region have realized the importance of consensus on “developing an equitable and indivisible security framework on the Eurasian continent.” The proposal for building a “greater Eurasian partnership” has been accepted by an increasing number of countries.
With its many countries and diverse civilizations, Eurasia has been a stage for empire expansion, world wars, the U.S.-Soviet Cold War and border conflicts. Each country faces important choices in the face of great changes unseen in a century. It won't be difficult for politicians of insight to choose between joining hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind in pursuit of common prosperity or becoming outside countries' pawns and fighting and exhausting each other. The bloody Russia-Ukraine conflict on the west side of the Eurasian continent has sounded the alarm bell for all. Good neighborliness, consultation on equal footing, mutual facilitation and win-win cooperation are the compass points on a worthy course with bright prospects. This is the path of the SCO.
