India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, marking his first visit to China in seven years. The move is a step towards normalizing Sino-Indian relations.
The SCO has positioned itself as a regional grouping focused on security and cooperation, with its inclusion of more members broadening its global influence. The summit’s priorities include strengthening collective security, economic integration, and digital transformation.
China sees the SCO as a platform to build a more equitable world order, free from Western interference. The country provides investments, logistics, and a political alternative to the Western development model. This shift has ruffled Washington’s feathers, with the US viewing the SCO’s efforts to use non-US currencies in trade as a challenge.
The US has imposed discriminatory tariffs and sanctions on many SCO member states, including India. China, however, sees the SCO as an opportunity to promote its own economic and political interests.
The summit may offer the countries of the Global South alternative wisdom to international rules and trading systems. The inclusion of more members, such as Iran and Belarus, has marked the SCO’s rise as a grouping striving for strategic autonomy.
China’s President Xi Jinping visited India in 2019, but bilateral relations deteriorated due to border disputes. This visit marks a positive step towards normalizing relations. The summit’s success will depend on its ability to address regional issues, including Afghanistan and the Middle East.
The SCO is not a bloc against the US-led West, but it has emerged as a key political and economic group seeking to improve the world order. As tensions between the West and the Global South continue to rise, the SCO may play a crucial role in shaping a more equitable world order.
Source: https://www.ecns.cn/m/news/politics/2025-08-26/detail-iheursku1441209.shtml