Shanghai Summit suggests strong geopolitical implications and realignments

 
Throughout this year’s SCO summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi projected warmth of relations not seen for years, chatting comfortably and smiling for photos. The summit and subsequent WWII parade in Beijing followed on the heels of President Donald Trump’s inconclusive Alaska meeting with Putin and a late summer noteworthy for the serious downturn in US-India relations. As the summit host, China’s aspirations for global leadership loomed over the entire week of diplomatic pageantry, while regional players like Pakistan used the forum to advance more parochial national agendas. Questions still loom about the tangible accomplishments of the SCO, but there can be little doubt that the summit week captured attention around the world, drew Trump’s ire, and reflected deeper tectonic shifts in global order.

Between August 31 and September 1, 2025 national leaders gathered in Tianjin, China, for the Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SCO) summit. The grouping — founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and four Central Asian states as a regional organization — has grown to include India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. In total, SCO has 10 members, 2 observers, and 14 dialogue partners. China continued its high-profile week of diplomacy two days later when Beijing hosted a massive military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, highlighting the sacrifices that China made in that conflict and showcasing its military and economic development over the subsequent decades. 

Beijing had defined the SCO Summit as its signature foreign policy event of the year, and China almost certainly achieved its main diplomatic and strategic aims. This summit was noteworthy for being the largest SCO meeting yet, with more than 20 state leaders and heads of 10 international organizations in attendance. The week included Putin’s unprecedented 4-day visit and Modi’s participation, which was not assured until the recent deterioration of India-US relations. SCO members passed the organization’s development strategy for the next decade, including the start of a process to found a SCO Development Bank. The summit also announced plans to establish four centers for countering security threats, securing information, combating organized crime, and countering illicit narcotics. Participants agreed to pursue cooperation in other areas, including energy. 

The question is well-justified; as the SCO’s concrete cooperation mechanisms and deliverables have so far remained limited. However, from the Chinese perspective, the SCO has served as an effective mechanism to manage Russia, its close neighbor with a complex history. The international isolation Russia has faced since the Ukraine war has given China an opportunity to push the SCO to expand cooperation beyond the narrow security focus that had long been Moscow’s preference.