SCO summit to inject new momentum into high-quality development: int’l officials

International officials say they expect the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 in north China's Tianjin to inject fresh momentum into high-quality development and comprehensive cooperation among member states.

The leaders of more than 20 countries and the heads of 10 international organizations have gathered in the northern Chinese port city for the largest-ever edition of the SCO summit, which is being held from Sunday to Monday, where participants will chart the course for regional cooperation and development in future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is among those present in Tianjin, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he believes that China-Russia ties will be further deepened through bilateral engagements at the two-day summit.

"In general, our leaders communicate very often, they address each other as dear friends call each other. Cooperation covers absolutely all areas related to the economy, and we are very satisfied. We are interested in further deepening," said Peskov.

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.

Belarus formally joined the SCO at last year's Astana Summit, becoming its 10th full member. According to Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, the nation was drawn to the SCO by its core values -- collectively known as the "Shanghai Spirit" -- which champion mutual respect, cultural diversity, and dialogue-based cooperation.

"We are all interested in normal development, development based on the so-called Shanghai Spirit. When we respect each other, respect multiculturalism, it means to solve issues through dialogue by finding some fresh interests, creative ideas that are convenient for everyone," said Ryzhenkov.

In an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran highly values the SCO's role in amplifying the voice of the Global South and welcomes its expansion to address regional issues.

"We attach great importance to the SCO and value its effort to, as I've said, find the proper place of countries of the Global South in the international arena. An, at the same time, we see many other countries who wish to join this organization which is good by itself. And we all have a real intention to go to this path and address the security issues, economic issues, even cultural issues of the member states," Araqchi said.

Many international experts anticipate that the summit will serve as a new starting point which will see the newly-expanded and more dynamic SCO enter a new stage of higher-quality development and closer cooperation. "This summit, the largest in the history of the SCO, reflects the organization's growing international influence. Malaysia highly values the 'Shanghai Spirit' advocated by the SCO, (and) is willing to play a bridging role in promoting dialogue and cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN and the SCO," said Huang Yingxin, a member of the Malaysian Ministry of Environment's think tank.

SCO summit to inject new momentum into high-quality development: int’l officials

Chinese tech giant ByteDance, parent company of the popular short-video app TikTok, has signed binding agreements to divest the app's most assets in the United States and form a joint venture with a group of mostly American investors, in a crucial step toward avoiding a U.S. government ban, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a memo sent to the company staff on Thursday.

Under the agreements, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent of the business, while U.S. cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each hold 15 percent. The remaining 30.1 percent will be held by affiliates of ByteDance's existing investors.

The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's order in September this year to delay the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok unless it was sold.

Although the transaction will not be complete until Jan 22, 2026, the move enables TikTok, used by more than 170 million Americans, to continue operating in the United States.

In April 2024, during former President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. Congress passed a law to ban TikTok over what it called national security concerns, unless the app was sold.

The law was set to go into effect on Jan 20 this year, but was pushed back multiple times by Trump, while his administration worked toward a deal to transfer ownership.

TikTok parent ByteDance signs deal to sell US operations in joint venture move