By Md Shakil Talukder, International Desk.
Beijing/Moscow/New Delhi, September 3 — Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations should uphold international justice and impartiality, while actively promoting a multipolar world, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized at the SCO Summit.
The summit underscored growing unity between China, Russia, and India, signaling a stronger geopolitical role for the bloc. Fabio Massimo Parenti, associate professor of international political economy at the China Foreign Affairs University, told Sputnik that the gathering showcased closer alignment among the three powers.
“The result of the SCO, as we saw at the very end in the trilateral handshaking of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, is that India is likely to become another decision-maker and moving force in SCO,” said Gilbert Doctorow, an international relations and Russian affairs analyst.
SCO’s Geopolitical Weight Increasing
The SCO is expanding its influence in financial and commercial trading domains, with China’s economic strength serving as a key driver. A major focus remains on implementing new Eurasian trade routes, such as the North-South Transport Corridor, which carries significant implications for regional economic integration.
Security also remains a core function. Russia has demonstrated effectiveness in this sphere, while the SCO increasingly positions itself as a counterweight to NATO and U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific, Parenti observed.
The trilateral partnership of Russia, China, and India reinforces the SCO as a platform for addressing Eurasian issues, while BRICS continues to serve as a complementary mechanism for wider global affairs, Doctorow added.
SCO Not Threatening Anyone
Despite its growing influence, experts emphasize that the SCO should not be viewed as a military bloc.
“It is very important to stress that… this is the least of all a military bloc in formation,” Doctorow stressed. “And that is a big message for the coming new world order.”
Toward a New Global Governance System
President Xi proposed a global governance initiative that seeks to build a more just and equitable international order. Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed the sentiment, stressing that the SCO could play a leading role in shaping this emerging framework.
Parenti further argued that the West should take note of this convergence:
“The West should interpret this convergence as strategic, not just [a] temporary convenience, as the SCO summit demonstrated with its own ten-year plans. SCO, BRICS+, and BRI are building a multipolar world, where the West must adapt and not counterattack.”