SCO chief highlights diplomatic solutions at Qingdao defense meeting amid geopolitical tensions

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is not a military alliance but a stability-focused platform, said Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev on Wednesday, underlining its commitment to resolving conflicts through political and diplomatic means.

Yermekbayev made the emphasis during an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the ongoing SCO Defense Ministers' Meeting, held in Qingdao, Shandong Province, from Wednesday to Thursday.

Since its inception in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has expanded from a regional organization with six members into a trans-regional organization with 10 full members, two observer countries, and 14 dialog partners.

"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has grown into a really well-reputed, and well-known, and influential trans-regional organization at the present time. Because if we were using the word regional in the past, after joining Belarus, [of] which the territory is completely in Europe, it became really trans-regional," Yermekbayev said.

On the Israel-Iran conflict, Yermekbayev said the SCO's reactions will mainly be political and diplomatic, adding the bloc may provide economic support if its member states request, but never military support.

"SCO is not a military bloc. It is not a bloc aimed against anybody, and there is no collective security principle in the SCO. The main way of reaction of the SCO is political and diplomatic reactions, mainly in the form of political statements. Also, SCO member countries may provide financial and economic support in case any member country requests and provides an official application for that," he said.

He reiterated that the SCO is a mechanism to resolve regional disputes and a platform to seek peaceful development.

"SCO is a good platform where representatives of all member countries meet and discuss various issues concerning or regarding any field of activity, be it economic sphere, be it agriculture, be it trade, be it transportation, be it culture, or humanitarian ties. SCO is making a big contribution to providing peace, stability, and to avoiding conflicts between any countries, and particularly touching upon any of the member countries," Yermekbayev said.

The SCO is a regional political, economic and security organization that groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus as full members.

SCO chief highlights diplomatic solutions at Qingdao defense meeting amid geopolitical tensions

U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Monday, staging a late-session recovery as investors navigated a volatile landscape marked by a criminal probe into the Federal Reserve leadership.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.13 points, or 0.17 percent, to 49,590.2. The S&P 500 added 10.99 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,977.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 62.56 points, or 0.26 percent, to 23,733.9. Despite the positive close, the market experienced significant intraday turbulence, with the Dow dropping nearly 500 points at its session lows.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. Consumer staples and industrials led the gainers, rising 1.42 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. Financials and energy were the primary laggards, declining 0.8 percent and 0.66 percent.

Market sentiment was initially shaken by an announcement on Sunday from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who confirmed that federal prosecutors are investigating him over the Fed's multi-billion-dollar project to renovate its headquarters. Powell characterized the probe as an attempt by the Trump administration to compromise the Fed's independence.

Further weighing on the financial sector was a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year, which triggered a sell-off in banking stocks amid concerns over restricted lending and reduced profitability. Capital One shares plummeted 6.42 percent, while Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America also recorded losses.

In contrast, retail giant Walmart led the Dow's advance, climbing 3 percent following news of its upcoming inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index. The company also announced a strategic partnership with Google's Gemini AI to enhance the digital shopping experience.

Investors are awaiting Tuesday's release of the U.S. consumer price index for December 2025. Following last week's cooling labor market data, market participants increasingly expect the Fed to maintain interest rates at their current levels during the upcoming January meeting.

U.S. stocks close higher amid criminal probe into Fed chair Powell