Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other world leaders arrived in China on Sunday, Aug. 31, for the latest annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The 10-membered organization has grown in size and influence since its founding 24 years ago, despite its goals remaining murky and low recognition, according to BBC.
The SCO was established in 2001 by China and Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia. It is notably not a collective security or economic alliance. BBC states there are “significant security differences between its members” and the “principle value” of the organization is in the optics of non-Western countries gathering together.
At the 2025 SCO summit, Chinese Leader Xi Jinping pledged the equivalent of $280 million in grants to SCO members and the equivalent of $1.4 billion in loans to an SCO banking consortium over the following three years, BBC reports.
Without directly naming the United States, Xi vowed to oppose “hegemonism,” “Cold War mentality” and “bullying practices” – all phrases often used by Beijing to criticize Washington D.C. With President Donald Trump alarming nations of his global trade war, Beijing believes the U.S. is undermining the international order it worked to build. BBC writes the SCO sees its own opportunity to ramp its own visions as an alternative choice.
On Sunday, Putin described his meeting with Trump in Alaska as a “mutual understanding” and believes they “opened a way to peace in Ukraine.” He has not released what those plans are.
The entire membership of the SCO includes China, Russia, India, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Some members are distinct foes of the West, specifically Iran and Belarus. Others have a more hazy relationship that changes depending on Western views of international affairs.
Western countries do not seem immediately concerned with China’s claims.
