Advertisement
Opinion
In summit full of symbolism, China lays out vision for multipolar order
The context of how Beijing sees its place in the evolving international system was conveyed in a subtle but unambiguous manner in Tianjin
3-MIN READ3-MIN
3
Listen
Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar is director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), an independent think tank based in New Delhi.
The two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that concluded in Tianjin on September 1 was a significant diplomatic triumph for President Xi Jinping and Beijing. The forum sought to burnish China’s geopolitical profile as a reliable interlocutor and an alternative voice for stability in global governance.
SCO summits tend to be low-key and do not garner much notice. This time, though, China used the opportunity to signal it had arrived at the global high table at a time when US credibility and reliability are in tatters thanks to the mercurial and petulant US President Donald Trump disrupting long-established international policy and diplomatic norms.
The China-led, 10-member SCO is a relatively modest Eurasian institution. It was founded in 2001 with Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan joining China and Russia. It later inducted India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus.
The organisation prioritises combating terrorism, extremism, separatism and transnational crimes such as drug trafficking. On the economic front, it seeks to integrate China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union.
Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice