Description: Chinese President, Xi Jinping, hosted the leaders of the permanent members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the northern city of Tianjin where the SCO Summit officially begun. The SCO was founded in 2001 initially as a security cooperation platform which later expanded its charter towards encompassing broader cooperation. The SCO consists of member states such as China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan. India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus expanded the closed circle in recent years and added to the organization’s legitimacy among countries that strategically aligned with the Global South. In his inaugural speech, Xi Jinping followed a well-known public narrative of criticizing the West, specifically the US, in practicing unilateral and oppressive foreign policy through the tariff measures, aid cuts and conditioned support for countries in which the US had interest meddling in. Russian President, Vladimir Putin also reiterated Xi’s statements and mentioned that Russia and China are at the pinnacle of their bilateral unconditional partnership, while also blaming the West for starting the war in Ukraine. The spotlight on the first day of the Summit was directed at Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who after 8 years officially visited China in times where the Indian – US relations mark a significant downfall and bilateral crisis. China is set to hold a military parade on 03 Sep, commemorating the end of World War II where other leaders such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic are expected to attend.
Impact: The SCO Summit practically established the foundations for the expansion of Chinese foreign policy influence and exertion of soft power throughout Asia and beyond. Xi’s gathering of the leaders from influential partner countries highlighted China’s gradually growing leadership position within the countries aligned with the Global South. Crucial divisions are still persisting over the establishment of broader long – term partnerships, such as rivalries between Pakistan and India, issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are part of the partner countries in the SCO, as well as persistent bilateral grievances between former Soviet satellite republics and Russia. The message from the Summit was abundantly clear, China was spearheading the initiative in order to disrupt the traditional power dynamics in global geopolitics and topple the US as the most influential global player. Behind the public portrayal of unison and camaraderie, the SCO would remain as a stable and promising platform for cooperation but without any substantial practical forms of multilateral cooperation in the mid to long – term period. China’s show of force and geopolitical powerplay was emphasized through the event, however, the underlying effects of the leaders gathering would be demonstrated in the upcoming period, where challenges such as the persisting war in Ukraine, the devastating crisis in Gaza and the US tariff war remain as the main determinants in the expansion of the proclaimed multilateralism.