The 24th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana this month had all the ingredients of a multilateral potboiler. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on “a common home of good-neighborliness and friendship” notwithstanding, the summit presented a usual mix of hits and misses. More importantly, another Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit went beneath the global radar, which is not ideal for a forum representing about 40 percent of the world’s population and whose members contribute about $23 trillion to global gross domestic product.
The agenda was understandably inward-looking, as has mostly been the case. Its member countries looked to strengthen relations, provide practical solutions to shared challenges and enhance regional and international cooperation. Considering the group’s composition, the agenda typically revolves around Central Asia. These forums do not often address broader global concerns or significantly impact major international crises.
Some member countries’ internal issues have ramifications on the forum’s agenda. So, if China and Russia face criticism for their domestic and foreign policies, this can undermine the organization’s credibility as a forum for promoting lofty values elsewhere. Due to this contradiction, the group has not produced many tangible outcomes or resolutions with significant global repercussions. Its activities are often seen as more symbolic than substantive in addressing major global challenges.
It operates in a crowded field of international organizations and regional groupings. It competes for attention and influence with organizations that have broader memberships and more established roles in global governance. Seen through the prism of geopolitical rivalry, particularly between its major members, China and Russia, and other global powers like the US, the organization can cause skepticism about its intentions and effectiveness in promoting genuine cooperation and stability.
Genuine cooperation and stability also eluded some bilateral issues. No visible move was made during the summit to find ways to ease the India-China standoff. The heat of such friction is felt during multilateral events. What is at stake for China appeared to be a bigger question of its hold on its Central Asian neighbors integrated through the Belt and Road Initiative. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of the rare platforms where the Indian and Pakistan leaderships still share the stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence this time around helped avoid this faceoff.
China and Russia now see the grouping as an extension of their sphere of influence in their growing challenge to the US-led alliance. This is a departure from the days when Beijing and Moscow looked at the organization as a platform to project influence beyond Central Asia, including regional security, stability in Afghanistan and economic connectivity through the Belt and Road Initiative. In recent years, they have strengthened their cooperation within the group amid increasing tensions with Western powers.
Noticeably, they have sought to deepen economic ties, enhance military cooperation and align their diplomatic positions on international issues such as climate change and multilateralism. They typically try coordinating their regional and global positions, often advocating for a multipolar world order and opposing unilateralism. In other words, the organization serves as a platform where China and Russia can bolster their strategic partnership and influence in Eurasia while managing their differences and ensuring regional stability.
Some takeaways from the summit were worth noticing. As part of the group’s development strategy until 2035, the member states approved a long-term strategy outlining collective contributions. The summit endorsed cooperation programs to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2025-2027 and approved a five-year anti-drug strategy, along with its corresponding action program.
Other collaborations approved during the summit included strategies for energy cooperation until 2030, the economic development strategy’s action plan until 2030, programs for developing cooperation in protected areas and ecotourism, and mechanisms for financing the organization’s project activities. The summit also adopted an interaction plan among member states on international information security issues.
Ironically, what makes Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits relevant to the world order is also perhaps why they have been largely ignored over the years. At the core of the experiment lies the “Shanghai Spirit” and the pursuit of shared development. Despite efforts to make it mainstream, the spirit remains a distant dream in today’s bipolar world, as it advocates for a multipolar world order. The organization emphasizes equal partnerships, respect for sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs, contrasting the unilateral actions and hegemonic tendencies often associated with bipolarity.
Dichotomy also surrounds economic cooperation and development. The Shanghai Spirit encourages economic cooperation and integration among member states, which is particularly relevant in today’s global economy, where economic interdependence can mitigate the adverse effects of geopolitical rivalries. Moreover, initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, supported by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, promote infrastructure development and connectivity, enhancing economic resilience and growth.
Overall, while the organization plays a role in regional affairs and serves as a platform for dialogue among its member states, its limited global influence and the perceptions surrounding its member states’ domestic policies contribute to its lack of serious consideration by the broader international community. A global ecosystem for such a spirit to pervade does not yet exist, so events such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits slip below the radar, whether inadvertently or otherwise. (Ehtesham Shahid is an editor, researcher, and analyst based in the UAE) Courtesy: Arab News
