On the eve of the grand military parade ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3, 2025, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, a globally anticipated international event—the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit—will first kick off in neighboring Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. This is the fifth time China has hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, and it is also the largest summit since the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. On the banks of the Haihe River, Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization +” meeting, and deliver a keynote speech. During the summit, President Xi will also participate in welcome banquets and bilateral activities with leaders from participating countries, and together with more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations, summarize the successful experiences of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, outline a development blueprint, consolidate cooperation consensus, and jointly build a new development path.
Perhaps some people, upon hearing the name Shanghai Cooperation Organization, might think that this organization named after a Chinese city is insignificant. They might feel that even if it has a strong “international” flavor, it’s just something concocted by a local government, serving the interests of one place.
In fact, this is a huge misunderstanding—the influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is much stronger than many people imagine. It is the world’s largest comprehensive regional organization in terms of territory and population, promoting cooperation among multiple countries in areas such as collective security, politics, and economy. As of now, there are 10 full member states alone, including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Pakistan, India, and Iran, covering more than half of the Eurasian continent. If we add the two observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, then all of China’s northern and western neighboring countries have been included as members of the “SCO family.” However, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will not stop its development here; there is still the possibility of further expansion. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Myanmar, and other 14 countries have already established ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as dialogue partners, and some of them may successfully upgrade their legal status in this meeting in the short term. Let’s wait and see!