SCO crucial to building true multi-polar world: UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday highlighted the important role the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) can play in building a true multi-polar world.

The UN chief is currently in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin to attend the SCO summit, which is taking place from Sunday to Monday and has gathered leaders from more than 20 countries and the heads of 10 international organizations.

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SCO crucial to building true multi-polar world: UN chief

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SCO crucial to building true multi-polar world: UN chief

Established in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has expanded from six founding members into a 26-nation family of 10 members, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners spanning Asia, Europe and Africa.

In an interview with the China Media Group in Tianjin, Guterres expressed willingness to deepen cooperation between the UN and the SCO and said the regional organization can play a big role as part of efforts to build a more multi-polar world.

"It (the SCO) represents a large percentage of the world population and it is inserted in one of the most dynamic areas of the global economy. So I'm delighted to have this opportunity to participate in this meeting and to do everything possible to intensify the cooperation between our two organizations," he said.

"I believe that we need to build a multi-polar world. We need to build a world in which all areas of the world, all cultures, all religions, all civilizations are able to work together. And in the efforts to build a multi-polar world, the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are essential. And so I believe that what the SCO represents today is one of the basic conditions to move into a true multi-polar world that unfortunately is not yet there. We are still moving in that direction," Guterres said.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.