In Tianjin this week, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) became more than a regional summit—it became the stage for a carefully choreographed reset. For the first time in seven years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to China, meeting President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the gathering. Their handshake was more than symbolic. It hinted at an opening: Xi declared that “China and India should be partners, not rivals,” while Modi spoke of a “new atmosphere of peace and stability.”
That reset comes at a time of global disruption. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited trade wars, imposing tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Russia remains under Western sanctions for its war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Washington’s once-celebrated relationship with New Delhi faces headwinds. As the U.S. burns bridges, India and China appear to be building one—albeit a fragile one.
From the Shanghai Five to Global Platform
The SCO began modestly in 1996 as the “Shanghai Five”—China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—formed to settle border disputes in the post–Cold War vacuum. By 2001, Uzbekistan joined and the group formally became the SCO, headquartered in Beijing. Since then, it has steadily expanded: India and Pakistan in 2017, Iran in 2023, and Belarus in 2024. Today, the SCO represents nearly half the world’s population, stretching across Eurasia and increasingly positioning itself as a counterweight to Western institutions.
Yet the SCO still struggles with identity. Is it a security bloc? A trade forum? A platform for the Global South? Unlike NATO’s clear doctrine of collective defense, the SCO promotes the principle of “indivisible security”—the idea that no country’s security should come at the expense of another’s. It’s a thinly veiled rebuttal to U.S.-led alliances, signaling that Beijing and Moscow seek recognition as equal centers of power.
Fractures Beneath the Optics
The Tianjin summit gathered more than 20 foreign leaders and the heads of 10 international organizations. But behind the photo ops, divisions ran deep.
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Russia’s War in Ukraine: Moscow has pushed for SCO alignment with its interests, but India has taken a more balanced role—buying discounted Russian oil while still calling for peace and maintaining ties with Kyiv. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly urged SCO states to reject Russia’s aggression.
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Middle East Conflicts: The SCO condemned Israeli attacks on Iran this year, but India—mindful of its close ties to Israel—refused to endorse the statement. Gaza and the West Bank remain points of friction.
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India-Pakistan Rivalry: New Delhi pressed the group to condemn cross-border terrorism, particularly after a deadly April attack in Kashmir that killed 26. When consensus failed, India refused to sign the joint defense ministers’ statement.
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China’s Balancing Act: Xi sought to project China as a unifier of the Global South, yet the summit underscored how difficult it is for Beijing to forge consensus across such diverse interests.
Optics Over Outcomes
Analysts agree: the summit’s value lies more in symbolism than substance. At a moment when Washington appears to be dismantling the multilateral system it once built, Beijing is keen to showcase that it can host, convene, and lead. Russia, isolated by sanctions, finds in the SCO a platform for legitimacy. Central Asian states still prize the group as a security forum. For India, it’s a stage to counter terrorism and now—tentatively—reset ties with China.
The optics also carry global weight. With the Quad Summit looming later this year in New Delhi, Modi’s meeting with Xi will be closely watched in Washington. Trump has branded both BRICS and the SCO as “anti-American” and has threatened new tariffs on their members. But with U.S.-India relations frayed, New Delhi’s delicate diplomacy at Tianjin could signal a more multipolar future—where India plays all sides to preserve autonomy.
The Meaning of the Reset
For Xi, the summit was a chance to position China as a stabilizing force amid U.S. disruption. For Modi, it was a pragmatic recalibration: a recognition that in an era of tariffs, wars, and shifting alliances, India cannot afford permanent estrangement from its giant neighbor.
The SCO remains a bloc in search of identity. But for now, its greatest value may be precisely this: a stage where rival powers can at least perform cooperation—even as their deeper fractures remain unresolved.
References:
- https://worldorderreview.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-sco-summit-2025-optics-power-plays.html
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyrwv0egzro
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/30/sco-summit-in-china-whos-attending-whats-at-stake-amid-trump-tariffs
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