Observers from around the globe have hailed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for setting an example of international cooperation and advancing globalization.
They spoke highly of the organization in interviews with China Central Television on the occasion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025, which run from Sunday to Monday in north China's port city of Tianjin. The summit this year brought together more than 20 foreign leaders and heads of 10 international organizations to discuss cooperation and draw a blueprint for future development.
Founded in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has expanded from six founding members into a 27-nation family of 10 official members, two observer states and 15 dialog partner countries spanning Asia, Europe and Africa.
Tshilidzi Munyai, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, praised China for promoting multilateralism.
"China believes in the globalization. China also believes to multilateralism rather than unilateralism, rather than protectionism. China treats even the smallest countries as equals, so that is the respect that China gave to other countries. This summit is going to strengthen regional economic integration, development, trade stability of everybody that want to participate in the summit," he said.
Some lauded the SCO for its inclusiveness and for its longstanding focus on promoting economic cooperation.
"This summit not only brought together leaders of the SCO member states and representatives of observer states, but also other representatives under the 'SCO Plus' model. This is indeed a historic moment. The larger the SCO grows and the more countries that participate in it, the more solid its foundation for development becomes," said Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of the Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper in Kazakhstan.
"The SCO continues to generate cohesion as a mechanism that contentiously attracts new participants, because it does not seeks to establish some kind of military bloc, rather to create a community of shared interests focused on economic cooperation," said Assylbek Izbairov, director of Kazakstan's Institute for Geopolitical Studies.
Some observers also noted that the SCO advocates for mutual benefit and win-win results, providing a solid foundation for countries to deepen practical collaboration in different areas.
"The SCO summit attracted participation from various parties and significant attention from media outlets which covered the event extensively. This is because that it took place in a great country and was hosted by a leader of high reputation in the world. The summit focused on very important issues, including strengthening international cooperation, combating terrorism, and formulating economic development plans involving all participants," said Abu Azeez Bin Laren, a Saudi expert on international affairs.
"SCO member states are demonstrating that it is possible to find collective and peaceful solutions, thus setting an example for building international relations. When the parties engage in political consultations that result in the reduction of differences and consensus on security issues, there is the fundamental prerequisite for investments and greater exchanges among the people of SCO member states. Consequently, it serves as a new paradigm for a fragmented world like the one we see today," said Marcos Pires, director of the Institute of Economics and International Studies at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil.
SCO sets example of int'l cooperation: global observers
