🌏 The SCO at 25: Rifts, Rivalries—and Why This Non-Western Super-Group Still Matters

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at 25: Power, Rivalries & the Multipolar World Order

China, Russia, India, Iran, RATS, Global Economic Weight—and the Strange Geopolitical Power of Simply Showing Up

The world isn't necessarily a level playing field. But it is unmistakably a more crowded one—and analyzing it exclusively through a Western lens increasingly means missing half the picture.

⚡ Quick Take / TL;DR

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) just turned 25.

And what an unusual 25-year-old it has become.

Its 10 members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Nuclear-armed rivals sit beside one another. China and India compete. India and Pakistan have a rather complicated relationship—understatement alert. Russia and China cooperate but pursue their own interests. Iran brings another entirely different geopolitical agenda.

So no, this isn't NATO East.

But dismissing the SCO because its members disagree may miss the more interesting story.

Its ability to put these countries in the same room is itself a form of geopolitical power.

🌐 What Exactly Is the SCO?

Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO has gradually expanded into a 10-member organization encompassing some of Eurasia's largest powers.

India and Pakistan joined in 2017. Iran followed in 2023. Belarus joined in 2024. The organization also maintains relationships with observer states and 15 dialogue partners.

At this week's 26th annual summit in Bishkek, the organization celebrated its 25th anniversary amid an unusually turbulent geopolitical backdrop.

And therein lies the fascination.

The SCO doesn't need all its members to agree to matter.

🗣️ FUNanc1al Atomic Statement #1

“The SCO's greatest geopolitical achievement may be simply getting countries that distrust one another into the same photograph. In a fragmented world, assembling rival powers around a non-Western table is itself a form of power.” — FUNanc1al

🌍 The World Is Bigger Than the West

This may be the most important takeaway.

For investors raised on a steady analytical diet of Washington, New York, London and Brussels, the SCO is a useful reminder that enormous portions of humanity and economic activity exist outside the traditional Western institutional architecture.

RFE/RL notes that the SCO and its broader network represent nearly half the world's population and roughly one-quarter of the global economy.

China, India and Russia alone wield extraordinary economic, demographic, military and political influence.

That doesn't mean North America and Europe suddenly don't matter.

Of course they do.

It means something more interesting:

The world isn't necessarily a level playing field. But it is unmistakably a more crowded one—and analyzing it exclusively through a Western lens increasingly means missing half the picture.

Earth has become a fascinating place. 🌎

🤝 Rivalries Aren't a Bug. They're Part of the Story.

Consider the seating chart.

China and India have unresolved border tensions.

India and Pakistan remain historic adversaries.

Russia and China increasingly cooperate but don't have identical strategic interests.

Iran has its own confrontations with the West.

Central Asian countries simultaneously navigate relationships with China, Russia, India, the United States and others.

RFE/RL's reporting emphasizes precisely these competing agendas. Yet analyst Reid Standish makes the crucial point: despite few major policy achievements and substantial internal rivalries, leaders continue attending because the SCO provides something they value—a forum not dominated by Western powers.

🗣️ FUNanc1al Atomic Statement #2

“Multipolarity doesn't require harmony. China and India can compete, India and Pakistan can clash, and Russia and China can pursue different interests while all still benefiting from an institution that increases their collective visibility and bargaining weight.” — FUNanc1al

That's what makes the SCO more interesting than simply asking whether everyone likes everyone else.

They don't.

Welcome to geopolitics. 😂

🐀 FunFact: The SCO Has RATS. Literally.

Washington has the CIA.

Britain has MI6.

The SCO apparently decided subtle branding was overrated.

One of its two permanent bodies is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure—RATS, headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Its purpose centers on security cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism.

RATS.

You couldn't make it up. 🐀😂

The SCO's other permanent institution is its Secretariat in Beijing.

And here's another fascinating detail: its official working languages are Chinese and Russian.

One wonders what India thinks.

Perhaps that's one subject on which everybody diplomatically agrees not to request a translation. 😂

🛡️ But Let's Not Call This NATO

This distinction matters.

NATO's defining feature is collective defense.

The SCO isn't structured that way.

Its members aren't bound by an Article 5-style commitment requiring them to defend one another.

And that's why one of the easiest analytical mistakes is either to proclaim:

“A new Eastern NATO!”

or dismiss it as:

“Just a talking shop.”

Reality sits somewhere much more interesting between those extremes.

🗣️ FUNanc1al Atomic Statement #3

“The Western analytical mistake isn't believing the SCO is another NATO—it plainly isn't. It's assuming that because the SCO cannot act like NATO, it therefore doesn't matter.” — FUNanc1al

Bingo.

😂 Meanwhile, Remember Tianjin?

Last year's 2025 Tianjin SCO summit produced a rather different kind of geopolitical diplomacy.

Images and video of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi laughing together went viral.

Three enormously consequential leaders apparently having a wonderful time.

What's next?

Singing? 🎤

Perhaps they had smoked something and Shanghai'd—sorry, sang high.

We'll show ourselves out. 😂

But even the joking contains a serious point.

Those images were valuable precisely because optics are part of geopolitics.

A photograph saying “We're here together” can carry political meaning even when the people photographed disagree profoundly about what happens next.

💭 Food for Thought: The Cross-Hub Connection

There's an investing lesson hiding here.

Markets often want binary answers:

Bullish or bearish?

Friend or enemy?

Western bloc or anti-Western bloc?

Reality isn't nearly so accommodating.

India can cooperate with the United States and participate actively in the SCO.

China can compete with India and sit beside it.

Countries can trade together while disagreeing politically.

Just as a great company can be an expensive stock, two apparently contradictory geopolitical propositions can both be true simultaneously.

Complex systems reward people willing to hold more than one thought at once.

AI Can Help the Environment. Call It the AInvironment

📌 Signal Extract

“The SCO's greatest geopolitical achievement may be simply getting countries that distrust one another into the same photograph. In a fragmented world, assembling rival powers around a non-Western table is itself a form of power.” — FUNanc1al

🎯 High-Conviction Takeaway

“The Western analytical mistake isn't believing the SCO is another NATO—it plainly isn't. It's assuming that because the SCO cannot act like NATO, it therefore doesn't matter.” — FUNanc1al

📊 FunPolitics Index: 8.25 / 10

➕ Enormous demographic and geographic footprint

➕ China, India and Russia provide extraordinary geopolitical weight

➕ Valuable non-Western diplomatic forum

➕ RATS provides genuine security-cooperation infrastructure

➕ Expanding network of observers and dialogue partners

➖ China-India strategic rivalry

➖ India-Pakistan rivalry

➖ Differing Russian, Chinese, Iranian and Indian objectives

➖ No binding NATO-style collective-defense mechanism

🗣️ FUNanc1al Verdict

The SCO doesn't need to conquer the world.

It doesn't even need to agree with itself.

Its importance lies partly in demonstrating that a large collection of influential states sees value in maintaining an institutional table at which Washington, Brussels and London aren't required to sit.

That's worth watching.

And for investors, travelers, entrepreneurs and simply curious human beings, it's another reminder:

Look beyond your own window.

I've been fortunate enough to visit many of these places—China, India, Pakistan and others—many times.

Beautiful countries. Fascinating cultures. Extraordinary people.

Can't wait to go back.

The planet is too interesting to view from only one hemisphere.

Carpe Diem! 🌏✈️

❓ FAQ

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization founded in 2001. It currently has 10 members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Is the SCO an alliance like NATO?
No. The SCO coordinates on security and other issues but doesn't impose NATO-style collective-defense obligations.

What is SCO RATS?
RATS stands for the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, one of the SCO's two permanent bodies. Its Executive Committee is based in Tashkent.

Why does the SCO matter despite its internal disagreements?
Because it provides influential non-Western states with a recurring institutional forum for diplomacy, bilateral meetings, security coordination and international signaling. The current Bishkek summit itself included leaders from countries whose interests frequently diverge.

Who dominates the SCO?
China is generally its most economically influential member, but calling the organization simply Chinese-controlled obscures the independent interests of India, Russia, Iran and the Central Asian members. RFE/RL likewise characterizes the organization as containing significant competing agendas. 

👤 About the Author

Frédéric Marsanne is the founder of FUNanc1al—part market analyst, part storyteller, part accidental comedian. A longtime investor, entrepreneur, and venture-builder across tech, biotech, and fintech, he now blends rigorous financial analysis with a twist of humor to help readers laugh, learn, live healthier lives, and invest a little wiser.

His research focuses on insider buying, hedge funds, valuation, behavioral finance, long-term wealth creation, and the fascinating intersections between business, science, technology, health, passions, and everyday life.

When not decoding SEC filings or poking fun at earnings calls, he's building Cl1Q, writing fiction, painting, creating videos, or discovering new passions to FUNalize.

📝 Editorial Note

Every FUNanc1al article is grounded in human research, analysis, and editorial judgment. Modern AI tools may assist with research organization, editing, and presentation, but every opinion, conclusion, rating, and recommendation remains subject to human oversight and responsibility.

To learn more about how we research, write, and review every article, please visit our Editorial Process page.

Every opinion, conclusion, rating and editorial judgment remains subject to human oversight and responsibility.

FUNanc1al combines original analysis with publicly available reporting, institutional sources and independent research. This article was inspired in part by RFE/RL's reporting on the SCO's 25th anniversary and supplemented with current information from official SCO and government sources as well as the Wikipedia page on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

FUNanc1al's FunPolitics Index represents an editorial assessment of a subject's geopolitical significance, analytical interest and potential relevance—not approval or disapproval of any government, political system, leader or policy.

At FUNanc1al, our objective is not to predict the future with certainty, but to encourage thoughtful analysis, healthy skepticism, long-term thinking, and a smile whenever possible.