China-SCO Trade Index

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

I. Introduction

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (English: Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russian: Шанхайская организация сотрудничества), abbreviated as SCO (SCO, ШОС). It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism, which was established in 1996. The members of the Shanghai Five meeting included China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It was a mechanism for enhancing trust in the border areas, and promoting the progress of disarmament negotiation.

On June 15, 2001, the heads of states of the Shanghai Five gathered in Shanghai for the sixth meeting. Uzbekistan joined the Shanghai Five as a member with complete equal status. The six heads of states signed the Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Shanghai Cooperation Organization was thus officially established and became a permanent international intergovernmental organization. In June 2017, India and Pakistan officially became the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Up till 2020, according to the official website, Shanghai Cooperation Organization consists of eight member states (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan), four observer states (Belarus, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan), and six dialogue partners (Turkey, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Nepal, Cambodia, Azerbaijan). In 2019, the GDP of the member states of SCO totaled 19.25 trillion USD, accounting for 21.9% of the global economy.

II. Aims and Principles

According to the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the SCO's main goals are as follows: strengthening mutual trust and good neighborliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, economy and trade, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, environmental protection, and other areas; making concerted efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and reasonable new international political and economic order.

The SCO follows the following basic principles: adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; respecting each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, no using or threatening to use armed forces; equality among all the member states; seeking to resolve all issues through consultation; non-alignment, non-targeting at any other countries or organizations; opening up to the world, and willing to carry out all forms of dialogue, exchange and cooperation with other countries, and related international and regional organizations.

The SCO actively advocates and practices the new security concept with mutual trust and security in disarmament and cooperation, new national relations with partnership and non-alignment at the core, and the new regional cooperation model featuring jointly initiated and mutually beneficial coordination of bigger and smaller countries. Throughout the SCO's development, the Shanghai Spirit is gradually formed, including mutual trust, mutual benefits, equality, coordination, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.