The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit opened in Tianjin on Monday with a strong call for fairness, justice, and cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping, delivering the keynote address, urged member states to reject hegemonism, cold war mentalities, and bloc confrontations, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan emphasized the importance of sovereignty, dialogue, and peaceful regional integration. Together, their speeches underscored the SCO’s ambition to serve as a platform for multipolarity and cooperation in an era of shifting global dynamics.

Xi’s address set the tone for the session, highlighting the need for an inclusive system of global governance rooted in the UN and WTO frameworks. He urged members to champion multilateralism and resist unilateral approaches. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko supported this call, describing the world as moving from a unipolar system toward a “fair multipolar order.” This emphasis on justice and inclusivity created the foundation for subsequent discussions on financial independence, development, and peace.

Building on the theme of fairness, Xi proposed the urgent creation of an SCO Development Bank to provide resilience and long-term stability. He pledged 2 billion yuan (US$280 million) in grant aid this year, alongside an additional 10........

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