China and Russia looking to expand Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as alternative to Western order, analysts say

The Eurasian bloc is seeking to appeal to countries under Western sanctions with Iran joining this year and Belarus on course for membership

Members are also looking to expand its economic role, with China pushing for national currencies to be used as an alternative to the US dollar

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A giant screen broadcasts news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address to the virtual SCO summit. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:00pm, 9 Jul 2023Updated: 4:50pm, 9 Jul 2023

China and Russia are looking to expand the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation by reaching out to countries sanctioned by the West and offering “alternative options” to the established order, analysts have said.

Although the bloc initially focused on security, the current climate and impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also driven efforts to boost its economic role.

By including Iran and putting Belarus on track for membership it had “sent a signal” to the world that there were options for greater Eurasian integration and to counter the Western liberal order, said Ilayda Nijhar, a global risk analyst at ODI, a global affairs think tank.

“We are seeing the SCO increasing in popularity across ‘non-aligned’ parts of the world … Geopolitically, China and Russia are looking to play the long game here,” she said.

China and Russia founded the security bloc in 2001 with the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined in 2017. Iran joined this year and Belarus, another country under Western sanctions, is expected to join next year.

Member states are also able to invite “dialogue partners” to take part in specialised discussions. More than a dozen countries have been given this status so far, with the latest being Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives and Myanmar.