Connexion
From Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has steadily evolved from a modest regional forum into one of the most significant multilateral platforms of the Global South. What began in 2001 as a security-focused grouping of China, Russia, and Central Asian states has now expanded its agenda to cover development, finance, connectivity, and global governance. With nine full members, several observers, dialogue partners, and applicants, the SCO today represents almost half of the world’s population and a vast proportion of its natural resources.
The 2025 Tianjin Summit was a landmark moment in this journey. Not only was it the largest SCO summit ever held, but it also carried profound implications for the organization’s institutional evolution, policy direction, and global relevance. The summit outcomes, particularly the launch of the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) and the decision to establish a multilateral SCO Development Bank, underscored the SCO’s growing capacity to translate vision into concrete action.
The SCO: A Unique Model of Cooperation
Unlike traditional military alliances or purely economic groupings, the SCO has always pursued a holistic model. Its foundation rests on the “Shanghai Spirit”—mutual trust, equality, respect for cultural diversity, and the pursuit of common development. This ethos sets it apart from exclusive Western-led blocs that often divide the world into competing camps.
The SCO’s agenda has gradually expanded from counterterrorism and border security to encompass trade, energy, health, climate cooperation, and digital connectivity. Its ability to bring together diverse actors—China, Russia, Central Asia, South Asia, and now increasingly West Asia—shows that multipolar collaboration is not only possible but increasingly necessary in today’s fractured world.
Key Outcomes of the 2025 Tianjin Summit
The Tianjin Summit marked a turning point for the SCO’s trajectory. Several outcomes deserve particular attention:
1. Global Governance Initiative (GGI)
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal of the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) was the most visionary highlight. The GGI aims to create a cooperative framework for fair, inclusive, and rules-based governance at the international level. Unlike the status quo dominated by a handful of powers, the GGI embodies the principle that all nations, regardless of size or economic weight, should have a voice in shaping global rules.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the initiative, noting its alignment with the UN Charter’s principles of equality, multilateralism, and sustainable development. By embedding the GGI within the SCO framework, China demonstrated both leadership and a commitment to building bridges rather than walls.
2. The SCO Development Bank
The decision to establish a Multilateral SCO Development Bank was another milestone. The bank is envisioned as a dedicated financial institution to support infrastructure, energy, climate resilience, and digital innovation projects across the SCO space.
This bank could become the Global South’s answer to financial asymmetries long dictated by Bretton Woods institutions. While the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and BRICS’ New Development Bank already play transformative roles, the SCO Bank would be rooted directly in the needs of Eurasia and South Asia—regions central to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It will provide concessional financing, encourage cross-border investments, and promote economic integration across the world’s largest landmass.
3. The Tianjin Declaration and 10-Year Development Strategy
The Tianjin Declaration, adopted unanimously, reaffirms the SCO’s commitment to peace, mutual respect, and regional stability. Alongside it, the Development Strategy 2025–2035 lays down an ambitious roadmap: expanding energy connectivity, promoting green technologies, advancing digital economies, and strengthening educational and cultural exchanges.
This long-term strategy shows that the SCO is not merely reactive but forward-looking. It seeks to consolidate its role as a stable pillar of global governance at a time when other institutions struggle with crisis management.
4. Strengthened Multilateralism
The summit also highlighted SCO’s embrace of inclusive multilateralism. UN support, coupled with growing interest from countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, suggests that the SCO is evolving into a global forum rather than a purely regional one.
China’s Leadership Role
China’s role in the SCO is indispensable. As the world’s second-largest economy, China provides both vision and capacity to the organization. President Xi’s speech in Tianjin emphasized that the SCO is shouldering greater responsibilities for safeguarding peace and promoting development.
China’s leadership manifests in several ways:
Pakistan’s Contributions and Opportunities
Pakistan has been an active and constructive member of the SCO since joining in 2017. Its strategic location, bridging South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia, makes it a vital connectivity partner within the SCO framework.
Pakistan contributes in multiple dimensions:
For Pakistan, active engagement in the SCO offers opportunities to diversify partnerships, strengthen economic resilience, and enhance its global standing as a responsible actor in multilateral platforms.
The SCO as a Pillar of the Global South
The Tianjin Summit underscored the SCO’s growing importance as a pillar of the Global South. In an era marked by geopolitical fragmentation, the SCO provides a rare platform where countries of diverse political systems and cultures come together on the basis of equality and shared interests.
Its expansion beyond Eurasia reflects a natural trajectory: nations in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia are increasingly looking toward the SCO as a forum that represents their aspirations more authentically than Western-led institutions. With its principles of non-interference, sovereignty, and mutual development, the SCO resonates strongly with these regions.
As the Global South’s voice grows louder, the SCO is likely to emerge as a unified forum for development, dialogue, and diplomacy—helping shape a new, multipolar order that is more balanced and inclusive.
The Way Forward
Looking ahead, the SCO faces both opportunities and responsibilities:
SCO’s Rising Trajectory
The 2025 Tianjin Summit was more than a diplomatic gathering—it was a statement of intent. By launching the Global Governance Initiative and deciding to establish the SCO Development Bank, the organization has positioned itself as a genuine force for multipolar cooperation and equitable development.
China’s leadership, Pakistan’s constructive engagement, and the collective will of member states have transformed the SCO into a rising pillar of the Global South. At a time when global governance structures are under strain, the SCO offers a model of inclusivity, balance, and pragmatism.
The future of the SCO is bright. As it gains momentum day by day, it will increasingly serve as a unified platform for dialogue, development, and diplomacy—reshaping the contours of international order in favor of fairness, stability, and shared prosperity.
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Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Founding Chair GSRRA, Sinologist, Diplomat, Editor, Analyst, Advisor, Consultant, Researcher at Global South Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Center, and Non-Resident Fellow of CCG. (E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com).
The economic and financial war against allies and recreation of colonialism. Somebody else must pay! There is hardly any coverge in the US press of these issues.
A few interesting selections from Godfree Roberts’ Newsletter: Here Comes China
Flight test begins of world’s first megawatt-level ‘windmill’ airship, the S1500, with 1MW energy generation, equivalent to a traditional 328-foot (100-meter) wind turbine.
DeepSeek becomes China’s AI model of choice overnight. HarmonyOS update of its AI assistant, Xiaoyi, is bringing deep integration of Deepseek-R1 to all Huawei phones. Lenovo’s Xiaotian platform has gone full Deepseek.
US companies stay put in China, none plan to move manufacturing to US.
Power consumption soared to an all-time high of 1,023 TWh in July, 2x residential of July 2019, more power than Japan, the 5th-largest power user in the world, used in all of 2024. Japan is the 5th-largest power user in the world.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, will discuss the use of offshore RMB stablecoins for trade settlement, part of broader discussions about expanding the use of the renminbi internationally.
China Records First Decline in National Carbon Emissions: China’s renewable energy push is paying off with a 1% YoY drop in carbon emissions in H1 2025.
China Concord Resources Corp signs rare 20-year pact to develop two Venezuelan oilfields, investing $1B+ to pump 60,000 bpd by 2026.
The US Navy is Building a Drone Fleet to Take on China (it’s not going well).
This article is very funny:
-During a U.S. naval test off the California coast last month, which was designed to showcase the Pentagon’s top autonomous drone boats, one vessel stalled unexpectedly.
-As officials scrambled to fix a software glitch, another drone vessel smashed into the idling boat’s starboard side, vaulted over the deck, and crashed back into the water
-The previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by U.S. defense tech rivals Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon’s push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels, according to a dozen people familiar with the program.
-Weeks earlier, during a separate Navy test, the captain of a support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea vessel it was towing suddenly accelerated, capsizing the support boat, according to four people familiar with the matter. The captain was rescued and declined medical attention. The incident was first reported by Defense Scoop.
-Both incidents stemmed from a combination of software failures and human error, including breakdowns in communication between onboard systems and external autonomous software, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity to share sensitive information.
Upon his return from the United States, Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the outcomes of the Russia-US talks (https://t.me/news_kremlin_eng/6017)
The President briefed senior officials of the Presidential Executive Office, the Government, the State Duma, ministries and agencies on the outcomes (https://t.me/news_kremlin_eng/6021) of the meeting in Anchorage.
Key statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s working meeting in the Kremlin to discuss the results of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska by Ria Novosti:
The visit to Alaska was “timely and very useful,” and his conversation with Trump “frank and informative.”
All areas of the Russia-US cooperation were discussed during the talks.
There was the opportunity to “calmly and thoroughly” outline Russia’s position on the Ukrainian conflict.
A fair resolution to the Ukrainian crisis was discussed.
Russia wants to see the fighting in Ukraine end and would like to move to resolving all issues with Kiev peacefully.
Moscow respects the Trump administration’s position on the need for an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
Addressing root causes of the Ukrainian crisis should be the foundation of a future peace settlement.
Selected from Here Comes China, Godfree Roberts. This is a free post on his substack.
China’s “Artificial Sun” Shatters Fusion Record With Over 17 Minutes of Plasma – https://scitechdaily.com/chinas-artificial-sun-shatters-fusion-record-with-over-17-minutes-of-plasma/
Brazil triples rare earth exports to China as Washington-Beijing rift ripples through trade – https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318653/brazil-triples-rare-earth-exports-china-washington-beijing-rift-ripples-through-trade
Morgan Stanley Joins Rush for Cheap China Capital With Landmark Bond Deal – https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-07-29/morgan-stanley-joins-rush-for-cheap-china-capital-with-landmark-bond-deal-102346205.html
China Ditches U.S. LNG as Russian Pipelines and Domestic Output Surge – https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/China-Ditches-US-LNG-as-Russian-Pipelines-and-Domestic-Output-Surge.html
China’s First Center for Imaging Living Systems From Molecules to Organs Begins Trial – https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/chinas-first-trans-scale-biomedical-imaging-center-to-generate-world-class-achievement-in-5-10-years-scientist-says
A few additional selections by GlobalSouth.co
There is regular news on Israel’s meddling in and around China.
China Warns Israel of Serious Consequences Over Taiwan-Related Actions – https://thechinaacademy.org/china-warns-israel-of-serious-consequences-over-taiwan-related-actions/
Chinese farmer-poets chronicle rural change through verse – https://english.news.cn/20250803/55611966d2f842dd87495b27acee4148/c.html
Cambodian princess seeks friendship with China through arts – https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202507/25/WS68835133a310ad07b5d92105.html
Nathan Rich comments on the trailer of a new movie on Japanese Unit 731
If you know only a little about the Japanese incursion into China as part of the 2ndWW, and the 1937-1945 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, or the Tokyo War Crimes trials, seek out videos, as the whole history of that period has not yet been told. Here is one about the horrible biological warfare by the Japanese of the era and how the knowledge was inculcated in the Geneva Conventions’ prohibitions against biological warfare.
China will hold a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, with President Xi Jinping set to deliver a speech on the occasion. To my knowledge, it is only the 2nd time that such a parade will be held.
The parade to commemorate what Beijing calls its victory in the 1937-1945 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression will “display new-type combat capabilities such as unmanned intelligent systems, underwater combat units, cyber and electronic forces and hypersonic weapons,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the event. In May, Xi joined a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe that Russia observes as Victory Day as well as a military parade held in Red Square.
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