SCO summit: Xi Jinping seeks expanded role for Shanghai Cooperation Organization with development bank

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would accelerate the building of a SCO development bank at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tianjin on Monday, as he seeks to expand the organization’s influence and scope.

“Currently, as the global situation becomes more complex and turbulent, member states are facing more arduous safety and development responsibilities,” Mr. Xi said in opening remarks to the forum. Mr. Xi pledged $1.4 billion in loans in the next three years for members of the SCO, not specifically designated for this new bank.

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With the addition of the bank and an emphasis on providing loans, Mr. Xi is attempting to expand the scope of the organization.

“He wants to provide an alternate world order, because the US led-world order is very much in decline. This is the main narrative,” said Alfred Wu, a professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Mr. Xi also said states should “oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc-based confrontation and bullying, and safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core” while “advocating for an equal and orderly multipolar world, an inclusive economic globalization, and promote the building of a more just and reasonable global governance system.”

Mr. Xi’s messaging did not stray far from China’s past comments, as opposition to a Cold War mentality is a reference to the U.S.’ opposition of China, as well as its withdrawal of funding from some U.N. agencies. But at this moment in time, its consistency is the message, Wu said.

Founded in 2001, the SCO’s membership now includes Russia, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan and Mongolia are observer states, and 14 other countries, mostly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East, serve as “dialogue partners.”

The summit comes days ahead of a planned military parade that Beijing will host, and the country is taking the opportunity to invite its allies and neighbours.