In Bishkek, the leaders of Russia, China, and more than a dozen other nations have gathered beneath the banner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — a body born as a trade forum a quarter-century ago, now quietly reshaped into a platform for imagining a world no longer centered on Western power. The summit arrives at a charged moment, as Washington moves to pressure Beijing over a $1.2 trillion trade surplus, and Moscow continues to seek legitimacy beyond the reach of Western censure. What unfolds in Kyrgyzstan is less a diplomatic meeting than a mirror held up to the fractures of the cur
Putin, Xi to lead SCO summit as US pressures China on trade surplus
A stage for articulating an alternative vision of global order
Mark
So the SCO is basically Russia and China's answer to Western institutions?
Mimi
It's more subtle than that. The SCO started as an economic and security forum focused on Central Asia. But yes, Putin and Xi have increasingly used it as a platform to articulate an alternative worldview—one where power is distributed among multiple centers rather than concentrated in the West.
Luke
But we should be careful here. The charter says it's not anti-West. That's in the founding documents. So when we say they've "transformed" it, we're reading intention into their statements at summits. They may be using it that way, but the organisation itself hasn't formally changed its purpose.
Mark
Fair point. But didn't Putin blame the West for Ukraine at last year's summit?
Mimi
He did. And Xi condemned what he called acts of intimidation—meaning US pressure on China. So the leaders are definitely using the platform for geopolitical messaging, even if the organisation's charter doesn't explicitly say that's its purpose.
Luke
Right. The statements are real. The messaging is real. But there's a difference between leaders using a forum to make political points and the forum itself being designed as an anti-Western alliance. The source material supports the first claim strongly. The second is more interpretive.
Mark
What about the economic weight? Forty percent of the world's population?
Mimi
That's what the SCO claims. It includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and others. So yes, numerically it's enormous. But population doesn't always translate to unified economic or political power.
Luke
Exactly. India and Pakistan are both members, and they have a fraught relationship. The SCO isn't monolithic. It's a coalition with competing interests. That's worth keeping in mind when we talk about it as a unified bloc.
Mark
And the timing with Bessent's comments on China's trade surplus?
Mimi
It's coincidental in terms of the summit being scheduled, but it's not coincidental in terms of the broader context. The US is applying economic pressure on China right now. The SCO summit is happening at the same moment. It's a visual reminder that China has other partners and other forums.
Luke
Though we should note: Bessent's comments are about trade policy, not military or political alliance. The US is trying to reshape trade relationships. That's different from trying to isolate China diplomatically. The SCO summit doesn't necessarily change what happens in G20 trade negotiations.
Der Puls
- Washington is actively trying to isolate China economically, with Treasury Secretary Bessent calling Beijing's $1.2 trillion trade surplus 'unsustainable' and pressing G20 partners to reconsider their ties with China.
- Putin and Xi are using the SCO summit as a direct counter-stage — gathering leaders from across Asia, the Middle East, and beyond to project unity and signal that Western pressure has limits.
- Iran's full membership and Turkey's attendance reveal how the bloc is pulling in nations that once straddled the line between Western and non-Western alignment, expanding the SCO's geopolitical gravity.
- The organisation now claims to represent 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP — figures that make it impossible to dismiss as a symbolic gathering of discontents.
- Bilateral talks between Putin and Iran's President Pezeshkian signal that the summit's real work happens in the margins, where military and energy partnerships are quietly deepened.
In Bishkek, the leaders of Russia, China, and more than a dozen other nations have gathered beneath the banner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — a body born as a trade forum a quarter-century ago, now quietly reshaped into a platform for imagining a world no longer centered on Western power. The summit arrives at a charged moment, as Washington moves to pressure Beijing over a $1.2 trillion trade surplus, and Moscow continues to seek legitimacy beyond the reach of Western censure. What unfolds in Kyrgyzstan is less a diplomatic meeting than a mirror held up to the fractures of the current global order — a reminder that the world's majority, by population and increasingly by economic weight, is organizing itself around different assumptions.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping arrived in Bishkek on Monday for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, joined by leaders from more than a dozen nations in what has become the most consequential gathering of non-Western powers on the annual diplomatic calendar. Founded 25 years ago as an economic and regional stability forum, the SCO has been steadily transformed by Putin and Xi into a platform for something more ambitious: the articulation of a multipolar world order as an explicit alternative to Western dominance.
The bloc's charter insists it is directed against no one. But the messaging at recent summits has grown increasingly pointed. Last year, Putin blamed Western nations for provoking the war in Ukraine from the same podium. Xi condemned what he called acts of intimidation — a clear reference to Washington's posture toward Beijing. The SCO has become a space where these grievances can be voiced collectively, free from the diplomatic friction that other forums impose.
The organisation's reach has grown to match its ambitions. Iran joined in 2023 and has since deepened military ties with Russia and energy links with China. Turkey's Erdogan is expected to attend, though Ankara remains outside full membership. Iran's President Pezeshkian will hold bilateral talks with Putin — a continuation of conversations that began at the foreign minister level in July. India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are among the many states present as full members or dialogue partners. Together, the SCO's members represent roughly 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP.
The summit's timing sharpens its significance. On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters he would press G20 members to reconsider trade relationships with China, calling Beijing's $1.2 trillion global surplus unsustainable and arguing that China is exporting its way out of domestic weakness rather than pursuing necessary structural reform. He plans to meet with China's central bank governor on the sidelines of a G20 finance meeting in the United States.
The contrast is difficult to ignore. While Washington works to reshape global trade patterns and reduce China's economic reach, Putin and Xi are standing together in Bishkek with dozens of other leaders, demonstrating that the countries under pressure have other partners, other forums, and other architectures of cooperation available to them. The SCO summit was not planned as a rebuttal to Bessent's remarks — but in the logic of this moment, it functions as one.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are heading to Bishkek on Monday for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, bringing with them the leaders of more than a dozen other nations to what has become one of the year's most significant gatherings of non-Western powers. The SCO, founded 25 years ago, began as an economic forum focused on trade and regional stability. But over the past several years, Putin and Xi have transformed it into something else: a stage for articulating an alternative vision of global order, one built on what they call a multipolar world rather than Western dominance.
The organisation's founding charter explicitly states it is "not an alliance directed against other states." Yet the messaging at recent summits tells a different story. At last year's gathering, Putin used the platform to blame Western countries for provoking the war in Ukraine. Xi, for his part, condemned what he called "acts of intimidation"—a direct reference to escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing. The SCO has become a place where these leaders can stand together and articulate grievances against the United States and its allies without the diplomatic constraints that might apply in other forums.
The bloc's membership reflects its expanding reach. Iran joined in 2023 and has since deepened military cooperation with Russia while strengthening energy ties with China. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend this year, though Ankara is not yet a full member. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will hold bilateral talks with Putin during the summit, continuing conversations that began when the two countries' foreign ministers met in July. Beyond the ten permanent members, another fifteen states participate as dialogue partners, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The leaders of India and Pakistan, both full members, are also expected to be present.
The numbers alone convey the SCO's weight in global affairs. The organisation claims to represent roughly 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP. It is, in other words, a significant economic and political bloc—one that cannot be dismissed as merely symbolic or regional.
The timing of this summit carries particular weight because it arrives just as the United States is escalating pressure on China over trade imbalances. On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that he would push G20 members to reconsider their trade relationships with Beijing, calling China's $1.2 trillion global trade surplus "unsustainable." Bessent framed the issue not as protectionism but as economic necessity: China's domestic economy is weak, he argued, and Beijing is attempting to export its way out of trouble rather than undertaking the structural reforms the world economy requires. He plans to meet with People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng during the G20 finance leaders meeting in the United States, though he offered no details about what those conversations might yield.
The contrast is stark. While American officials are working to isolate China economically and reshape global trade patterns, Putin and Xi are gathering with dozens of other leaders to present themselves as the architects of a different world order—one in which the West's economic leverage is diluted and alternative power centers hold genuine sway. The SCO summit is not a response to Bessent's comments, but it functions as one nonetheless: a demonstration that the countries the United States is trying to pressure have other partners, other forums, and other ways of organizing their affairs.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The world cannot have a China with a US$1.2 trillion trade surplus. China's economy is quite weak, and they are trying to export their way out of it.— US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
The SCO is not an alliance directed against other states.— SCO founding declaration
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