SCO Summit 2025: the largest meeting of the organization will be held in China

On Sunday, August 31, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will begin in Tianjin (China). It will last until Monday, September 1st. According to Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, the summit will be the largest since the founding of the SCO. For more information about the organization, as well as the upcoming summit, see the Izvestia article.

The SCO Summit in 2025: Who will be present, the Tianjin Declaration

A meeting of the Council of Heads of SCO member States will be held in the Chinese city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025. The summit promises to be one of the largest in the history of the organization. More than 20 heads of state and heads of 10 international organizations will gather in Tianjin to participate in the meeting. In addition to the Chinese president, the leaders of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Vietnam and other countries were invited to the summit. China acts as the host and Chairman of the SCO. The official list of representatives of international organizations that will participate in the summit was not provided at the time of publication of the article, however, the SCO has established cooperation with the United Nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the Arab League (Arab League) and other associations.

The number of participants in the summit demonstrates the joint expectations of the Member States for the sake of deepening cooperation and attracts great attention from the international community.

Alexander Grif, Deputy Director General for Economics and Industry at the CIS Business Center for Economic Development, told Izvestia that during the meeting, the leaders will summarize the results of the Chinese presidency and approve key areas for further development.

— The main result of the meeting will be joint documents that have already been prepared for signing: the Tianjin Declaration and the SCO Development Strategy until 2035. These documents will define the organization's long—term guidelines and consolidate the SCO's overall strategy for the decade," he said.

According to Zhang Hanhui, the meeting will discuss trade, scientific and technical innovations, security and the establishment of the SCO Development Bank.

As Alexander Grif added, the heads of state can discuss the progress of current initiatives and the launch of new joint projects. Special attention can be paid to the integration of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the development of transport corridors and logistics. Among other topics for discussion, the expert highlights: the discussion of initiatives in the field of digital economy and technology independence and the dissemination of national IT solutions (for example, the Kylin operating system, developed in China as an alternative to Western software).

— Such projects are aimed at reducing external dependence and ensuring the cybersecurity of the participating countries. Observers note that deepening cooperation in the field of AI and digital technologies can create a regional ecosystem of innovations independent of Western platforms," notes Alexander Grif.

The Izvestia interlocutor also adds that the summit is an important stage in the development of the SCO.

— Its scale and subject matter reflect the participants' desire to consolidate the organization as an influential player. Digital sovereignty is a practical task for states and businesses, and achieving independence in the digital sphere requires not isolation, but equal cooperation. These ideas are already evident at the summit — the SCO is forming a new "architecture of digital independence," concludes Alexander Grif.

What is the SCO: which countries are included

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Later, India, Pakistan and Iran joined them, becoming full members, and in 2024 Belarus joined the organization.

In addition to the permanent members, the SCO includes two observer countries— Afghanistan and Mongolia.

Another 14 countries are dialogue partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar.

Goals and objectives of the SCO

The main task of the SCO is to strengthen trust, friendship and good neighborliness. They also highlight: strengthening security and stability in the region, promoting economic growth, cultural and social development, strengthening diverse cooperation in maintaining and consolidating peace, and jointly countering new challenges and threats.

The organization aims to counter terrorism, extremism and separatism through joint efforts. In addition, the agenda includes issues of economic integration, trade and investment development. The SCO is a platform for multilateral dialogue, allowing countries to coordinate their positions on the most important international and regional issues, creating an alternative to traditional Western structures, and striving to form a fair and equitable international order.

The SCO economy

According to the data for 2023, the total gross domestic product (GDP) of all participants of the organization was about $24.5 trillion, which is approximately equal to a quarter of the global economy. At that time, GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) was about 32.4% of the global total.

"Our member states collectively account for more than 40% of the world's population, more than a quarter of the globe's territory and a quarter of global GDP," SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming said in June 2024 (starting January 1, 2025, Nurlan Yermekbayev holds the post).

After joining the union of Belarus, GDP by PPP increased to 32.6%.

Russia's trade turnover with the SCO countries is growing rapidly and in 2024 amounted to a record $406 billion. Among the countries of the bloc, there is also a dynamic increase in mutual investments and infrastructure development projects, which contributes to strengthening economic ties and creating a single Eurasian market.