Bulletin N°59 2025 China is hosting the 25th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), founded in 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Four other states have joined this organization: India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. The SCO also hosts four observer countries (Mongolia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan) and 14 "dialogue partners," including Middle Eastern oil powers Turkey, Armenia, and Egypt. This represents almost half of the world's population and 23.6% of global GDP.
This summit is particularly important because of the number of participants and the opportunity for China to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the last world war , in particular with a large military parade.
The presence of the Indian head of state, Mr. Modi, is particularly commented on due to the persistent Sino-Indian tensions and customs disputes with the United States (which accuses India of buying Russian oil, which is true and, what's more, at a good price). It would seem that the Chinese and Indians are determined to resolve the border problems even if the delicate question of water sharing and in particular the consequences of the hydroelectric projects planned by China still remain to be addressed (which does not interest the sharp commentators of the mainstream media...)
Rather than the event itself, what is interesting at first glance are the Western comments about this summit, presented as "anti-Western" or even anti-NATO (although for some French media, it would seem that NATO is the West and vice versa). Also highlighted is the political authoritarianism that characterizes the main leaders of this organization. On the other hand, the presence of the UN Secretary-General at this summit is eclipsed by that of the North Korean leader.
Ultimately, this is to admit that China is strengthening its power through this type of meeting. And if a dictionary of commonplaces were published today, the entry for China would be: second world power, as always.
Obviously, the GDP of the United States is higher than the Chinese GDP, but manufacturing GDP (i.e., material production, the source of exchange values) is twice as high in China as in the United States (more than $4.5 trillion compared to $2.5 trillion). We recall these fairly basic data, firstly to assert that China is already the world's leading economic power and should therefore fairly quickly become the world's leading military power (for example, it produces the equivalent of the French war fleet per year).
In fact, the SCO summit symbolizes the ongoing imperialist confrontation in which people have nothing to gain in Beijing, Delhi, Paris, or Detroit. Because, of course, no "authorized" commentator identifies the underlying causes of these international rivalries, which are linked to the needs of capitalism to preserve and expand its capacity (raw materials, labor, markets, etc.) to accumulate profits.
We will return to this SCO summit next week to analyze in more depth the developments in relations within the SCO and their consequences at the international level.